Overdoses suspected after two men found dead
MAJOR RESPONSE: Emergency crews descend on apartment building after initial concerns over drug lab
Two men were found dead in a Vancouver apartment Tuesday, triggering a major response that included the fire department’s hazardous material team.
A woman in need of medical attention was found with the men on the 14th floor of the apartment in the 4000-block of Knight Street.
“The deaths were sudden and suspicious,” Capt. Jonathan Gormick of Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services said. “The situation required hazmat and the police.”
After investigating, officials said the deaths were probably caused by overdoses. There were initial concerns the apartment may have had an illegal drug lab, but police later said it did not and, by 4 p.m., declared the site safe.
“There was no immediate danger to the public, which is why we didn’t evacuate the building,” Gormick said. “We felt there was no need to remove people from their premises.
Residents who left on their own were not allowed back in for two or three hours as the police investigation.
“For operational purposes and to give room to work for the numerous Vancouver firefighters and police who are on the scene, we were not allowing people to re-enter,” Gormick
Residents said they had no idea what was going on when emergency crews descended on the building. Neither they nor neighbours seemed overly surprised about the two drug-related deaths, but were taken aback by the magnitude of the response.
More than two dozen emergency vehicles, including fire, ambulance and police, responded, causing chaos to the traffic in Kensington Village on Knight Street between East King Edward and Kingsway.
“It’s not that shocking if you’ve lived in East Van forever,” a woman who works at a neighbouring medical practice said of the overdose deaths. “But it’s probably shocking for the people who have moved here during the gentrification of the neighbourhood,” she said.
The survivor was taken to hospital, apparently under the influence of narcotics, Insp. Rob Clarke of the VPD said.
“The smallest amount (of fentanyl or carfentanil), even if inhaled, can be deadly for our members so we just want to make sure the suite is safe for us to go in an further investigate the cause of death of the two individuals inside,” he said.
The woman was in the suite when the men died, but it’s not known if she lived in the suite, Clarke said.
“She’s an associate of the two males. She is fine.” She did not require Naloxone, he said.
“Obviously the cause of death has not been determined yet, but from early indications and speaking with the female and her activities throughout the night, we think what we’re dealing with is a drug overdose.”