First responders have been called to a drug overdose nearly every day this year in Greater Lafayette.
From Jan. 1 to Sept. 1, ambulances responded to 243 overdoses, said Darrell Clase, director of Tippecanoe Emergency Ambulance Service. More than 90 of the calls involved heroin, while more than 70 involved spice.
"The drug calls since my time frame have increased significantly," said Clase, who has worked at TEAS for more than 15 years.
In the past five years, for example, overdoses at local emergency rooms quadrupled from 117 in 2010 to 445 in 2015, according to the Drug-Free Coalition of Tippecanoe County's annual report on drugs and alcohol.
Spice accounted for 186 calls, while heroin equaled 90 calls last year — one of the busiest for first responders, Clase said.
"We were significantly high last year," he said. "We're on the same trend to meet or exceed last year’s numbers."