Six men who overdosed in park revived by drug

Six men who suffered the effects of a drug overdose in an Oceanside park were revived Friday when paramedics administered naloxone, fire officials said.

The incident was reported around 4:30 p.m. at Seagaze Park, adjacent to the beach and south of the Oceanside Pier on North Pacific Street, the Oceanside Fire Department said in the news release.

A 911 caller reported that a group of men, believed to be unhoused, were congregated in a crowded park and having a medical emergency, said Battalion Chief Blake Dorse in an email.

Multiple fire engines, police, ambulances and lifeguards responded to the scene. Paramedics learned the men were overdosing on fentanyl, a highly potent and often deadly opiate, authorities said.

The paramedics treated the men with naloxone — a medication known by the brand name Narcan — to quickly reverse the symptoms of overdose, according to the Fire Department.

“If the patients had not been treated promptly, they would likely not have survived the overdose due to the extreme effects of the drug,” the department said in the news release.

It was unclear late Friday how authorities knew which drug had caused the overdoses.

All six men refused to be taken to a hospital for further treatment.

Fentanyl overdoses killed more than 800 people across San Diego County in 2021, and by all accounts did not let up in 2022 or 2023, The San Diego Union Tribune reported earlier this year.

Since 2021, the UC San Diego health care system has reported 100 to 120 fentanylr-elated hospitalizations per month at its two main facilities in Hillcrest and La Jolla. In March and April, that number exceeded 200.