Blanchet House staff help save man experiencing drug overdose

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Some of the staff at Blanchet House are being hailed as heroes after their quick actions helped save the life of a man overdosing.

The staff members were having lunch when an unconscious man was pulled out of a nearby tent.

The nonprofit said the man's friend had already administered two doses of Narcan, which reverses an opioid overdose, when a staff member rushed over with a third dose and revived him. Two volunteer nurses then stepped in to assist.

"It’s devastating to witness," Blanchet House & Farm tweeted. "We’re so grateful for our team for saving a life today. They go above and beyond the call of duty."

In January, Blanchet House shared a similar story where an Old Town InReach program team member helped save someone experiencing an overdose.

Christopher Woody administered two doses of Narcan to a woman found passed out in a tent outside the nonprofit. The woman regained her breath just before paramedics arrived.

“It was surreal. Everything seemed to slow down for me,” said Woody.

Following Woody's heroic actions, the InReach Team told KOIN 6 that there were more overdoses because of fentanyl.

“It’s nothing new, it’s been going on for the last couple years,” said Casey Culley with the InReach team. “I think specifically pertaining to overdoses and usage, it’s stepped up in the last year. It’s progressively gotten worse in the last three [years].”