Rhode Island is receiving a helping hand in preventing opioid overdoses, thanks to a statewide private security company.

Metropolitan Public Safety and Security LLC began a new program this week that is meant to assist in preventing deaths as a result of opioid overdoses. Thanks to Maj. Brian Fernandes, the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) supervisor of security and K-9 unit, Metropolitan is going to be training and equipping all of its security officers with the medicine Naloxone (brand name Narcan).

“Naloxone is an opiate antagonizer,” Fernandes said. “It goes into the brain and attaches to opioid receptors and kicks the opioids off of the receptors.”

Fernandes said there’s a process for his company in the treatment of an overdose. First, his security officers are supposed to call 911. Next, they can administer Narcan to the person suffering from an overdose. Then, they are supposed to provide emergency respirations.

When this is complete, the person should come out of the overdose for a period of time ranging from 30 to 90 minutes. Narcan is not a permanent solution for an overdose; it is only temporary. From there, the patient will be taken to a hospital, where they can receive the necessary definitive care.

“We’re not here to replace first responders, or assume their duties,” Fernandes said. “We’re here to protect life until they can arrive on scene.”

The training process began on Monday, July 11, and is being provided to Metropolitan’s officers for free. Fernandes, who is a certified instructor in the proper use of Narcan, was doing the training. He said with the presentation and the hands-on testing, the process would only take about an hour. The medicine itself costs about $40 to $50 per dose, but the company has been getting some for free from various community-based organizations.

Fernandes, who has a background as an emergency medical technician (EMT), said he came up with the idea of equipping the officers with Narcan. He thought it was a “real unique and interesting process that could be a part of the solution and not the problem.” He brought the idea to management, and they supported it.

Metropolitan has locations throughout Rhode Island, and serves the whole state. It will also be expanding its services to Massachusetts in the fall.

Metropolitan is a private security company, and clients will reach out to ask for services. The Narcan helps personnel prevent overdoses at work places such as construction sites, which Fernandes said can be common locations for people to “duck in” and use drugs.

“It’s always been a pet peeve of mine that private security lacks proper training,” Fernandes said, “and I don’t want to be that company standing there watching someone die when we could be part of the solution.”

Metropolitan deployed these Narcan kits to its sites on Monday. Each kit contains two doses of the medicine and a mask to apply rescue breaths. Fernandes said the handling the placement of the medicine on site would be up to the officer on duty. As the program unfolds, it will be examined whether or not officers need to be personally equipped with a dose of Narcan.

“This is a new program,” he said. “We don’t know of any other companies providing this service.”

The new Narcan program will be accompanied by Metropolitan’s K-9 unit, which features two canines who will be trained and certified to national standards of law enforcement for locating marijuana, methamphetamines, cocaine, heroin, and other drugs.

“Now we can do our part in locating narcotics as well,” Fernandes said.

Metropolitan can be reached at 484-8194. More information is available at metropolitanpublicsafety.com.