Six people were treated for apparent overdoses after using cocaine possibly mixed with fentanyl at the Eagles Club on Cleveland Road in Ravenna on Saturday night, according to a police report from the incident and a statement from public health officials.
All six survived after the Ravenna Police Department and local fire departments responded. At least three people were treated with Narcan. One man did not have a pulse when officers arrived, police said.
The Mental Health & Recovery Board of Portage County issued an alert on Wednesday urging caution: “There have been recent reports of people overdosing on cocaine mixed with fentanyl. Anyone using drugs, even in small amounts, can overdose. Know the signs of an overdose. Call 911 immediately. Do not use alone, and carry naloxone.”
Police were initially dispatched to treat a Ravenna man who was unresponsive on the property’s back patio around 9 p.m.
“When I arrived on the scene, Patrolman Wise and Patrolman DeHoff were already performing CPR on the male and asked me to bring the AED in,” wrote Officer Christopher Dynys in his incident report.
The AED was not used, however, and officers continued chest compressions until the Ravenna City Fire Department arrived at the scene and took control of patient care.
The man was then taken to University Hospitals Portage Medical Center with a faint pulse.
After the first man was taken away, the situation worsened.
“We heard a commotion behind us, and I noticed a white female screaming for help,” wrote Dynys.
The woman led officers to the back fence line where another man sat unresponsive in a chair. After learning he used drugs, Dynys performed sternum rubs to help the victim regain consciousness.
After these attempts failed, fire and police personnel moved the victim from the chair onto the concrete ground. Determining he had a strong pulse, Officer Alex DeHoff administered two doses of Narcan and he became conscious again.
“While the Ravenna Fire Department was treating [him], patrons notified us that several other people were dropping to the floor and were beginning to lose consciousness,” Dynys said.
Narcan, the brand name for naloxone, is only effective in treatment for opioids. But witnesses said the victims had taken cocaine, raising the possibility that more than one drug was mixed together, with or without the users’ knowledge.
“During the conversation, someone mentioned to me that someone was selling cocaine at the Eagles Club,” Dynys wrote.
While fire and police staff treated patients on the scene, officers made announcements to patrons in the building, searching for others who might have used the substance. Officer Brock Wise and Dynys located two who had used cocaine that night. Both were directed to emergency personnel.
Five Ravenna residents and one Alliance resident were treated at the scene. The oldest patient was 55. The youngest was in their early 40s. Those transported were all alert and in stable condition after a police follow-up.
An officer obtained a written statement from a witness with knowledge of who brought the cocaine to the bar.
