CHESHIRE, Conn. (AP) — Authorities say six staff members at a Connecticut prison have been taken to hospitals after possible exposure to the synthetic opioid fentanyl.
The Department of Correction says Cheshire Correctional Institution has been locked down as authorities investigate.
An ambulance was called Tuesday morning for a correction officer who was in medical distress. Soon thereafter, three additional officers and two employees involved with the prison’s education program also began feeling sick.
The department said all of the affected staff members remained conscious and alert. By Tuesday afternoon, two had been treated and released from the hospital.
Officials said no inmates showed signs of exposure to fentanyl.
A state police hazardous materials team and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection have joined the response at the prison.
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