Belmont police are crediting a 6-year-old boy with possibly saving his father from an overdose death Friday.
Emergency personnel received a call about 5:53 p.m. regarding an unconscious man. Police said the boy saw his father, ran from their home and flagged down a neighbor driving by for help.
Police and fire department members arrived at the home and found a 31-year-old man who was unresponsive. Firefighters administered Narcan, which revived the man. He was then transported to an area hospital.
Police determined the man overdosed on fentanyl. The boy was turned over to the custody of family members, and the Division for Children, Youth and Families was notified.
“The young boy was very brave in this instance and may have very well saved his father’s life,” police said in a statement.
DCYF has seen more and more child welfare cases impacted by drugs.
The state has seen record numbers of fatal overdoses during the last few years.
In addition, the Monitor reported earlier this month that in 2015, the agency received 504 reports of infants born experiencing opioid withdrawal, which can happen when pregnant women misuse opioids. That’s a sharp increase from the year before, when 367 babies were showing such symptoms.
“Not only are addicts overdosing and causing serious issues for themselves and their families,” Belmont police said, “They are also putting our greater community at risk.”
Police noted that in addition to child cases, they’ve seen drugged drivers on the roadways. Belmont now has officers on patrol for the sole purpose of identifying and arresting impaired drivers.
Used needles are another common find, and police encourage anyone who discovers them to not touch them, and report the incident immediately to authorities.
“Last Friday morning a Belmont officer recovered several needles in the Belknap mall parking lot that had been left exposed for anyone to step on,” police said.
(Elodie Reed can be reached at 369-3306, ereed@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @elodie_reed.)