First responders were hospitalized after a suspected overdose call in rural New Mexico.
MOUNTAINAIR, NM — Three people died and more than a dozen first responders were treated Wednesday after crews encountered an unknown substance during a suspected overdose call at a home in Mountainair, authorities said.
New Mexico State Police took over the investigation after four people were found unresponsive at the residence in the rural Torrance County community east of Albuquerque. Officials said three of them died and a fourth person was taken to University of New Mexico Hospital, where exposed responders also were evaluated. Investigators had not released the names of the dead or identified the substance by Wednesday night.
Paramedics and deputies responded to the home near Hanlon Avenue and Pinon Street after a call about a possible overdose. KOB reported the call came around 8 a.m., while other accounts placed the broader state police response later in the morning. Crews found one person dead outside the home, one dead inside and two others who needed resuscitation, KOB reported. One of those two later died at an emergency room. Officer Wilson Silver of New Mexico State Police said investigators believed the substance may have spread through contact and did not appear to be airborne.
Officials said 18 first responders developed symptoms including nausea and dizziness after the call. Some accounts also described vomiting, coughing and headaches among responders. University of New Mexico Hospital said 23 exposed patients were assessed and decontaminated after arriving from Torrance County. Most were later released. Three symptomatic patients remained under monitoring Wednesday evening, hospital officials said. Two first responders were listed in serious condition, according to state police. Albuquerque Fire Rescue HazMat teams assisted at the scene and entered the home in protective suits to collect samples, identify hazards, decontaminate the area and remove the substance.
Mountainair Mayor Peter Nieto said three of four Mountainair EMTs who were taken to the hospital had been released, though they were not fully recovered. Nieto said Mountainair EMS Chief Josh Lewis remained hospitalized overnight for observation after being the first responder to enter the residence. Nieto also said nurses at UNM Hospital and Torrance County EMTs who came into contact with affected people reported symptoms. Mountainair Public Works had ruled out carbon monoxide and natural gas as causes, he said. State police said early indications pointed to drugs as a possible factor, but no final cause had been announced.
Mountainair is a small town in central New Mexico with fewer than 1,000 residents. The emergency drew law enforcement, fire and medical crews to a rural home as officials set up a secure area around the scene. Police tape surrounded the property, which was described as being on a dirt road with a trailer in the backyard and several vehicles in the driveway. Authorities said the affected area was secured and there was no ongoing danger to the public. Nieto said the town’s offices would be closed Thursday because of the emotional toll on staff and responders.
Antonette Alguire, a volunteer firefighter in Mountainair, said she helped perform CPR on a woman outside the home and then saw EMTs and firefighters begin coughing, vomiting and becoming dizzy near a heliport. Alguire said she did not enter the home and had not developed symptoms. “It’s getting to that point where we just have to live in fear, even saving lives,” she said. Nieto said the response showed the strain placed on local emergency workers in small communities, adding that addiction and substance abuse are affecting towns across New Mexico.
The investigation remained active Wednesday night as HazMat teams worked to identify the substance and state police reviewed what happened inside and around the home. No arrests or charges had been announced. Officials had not said when toxicology results or the identities of the three people who died would be released. The next major step is expected to be confirmation of the substance and the medical condition of the responders still under hospital care.
Author note: Last updated May 21, 2026.