Two volunteers with Chilliwack’s City Watch program used one of these Naloxone kits to save the life of a teenager who experienced an apparent drug overdose on July 25, 2021. (Darryl Dick/The Canadian Press)

Quick-thinking volunteers with Chilliwack City Watch save life of teenage boy

The volunteers administered Naloxone to a 16-year-old suffering an apparent drug overdose

A pair of volunteers with ‘City Watch’ saved the life of a 16-year-old boy Sunday morning (July 25).

City Watch is a Chilliwack Crime Prevention Society program, with teams of two running patrols from 10:30 p.m. to 4 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Just before 2 a.m. Sunday one such team came across a teenager slumped over a fence line in the area of Yale Road and Williams Street.

The teen was in obvious trouble due to an apparent drug overdose. The volunteers immediately called 911 and began first aid. They gave him a dose of Naloxone and he slowly became more responsive. Paramedics arrived to take the teen to hospital. He has since recovered and been released.

The volunteers did not want to be named, but Sgt. Krista Vrolyk, spokesperson for the Chilliwack RCMP, said she’s incredibly proud of them.

“These citizens volunteer their time to City Watch patrols aimed at public safety,” Vrolyk said. “On Sunday morning they were definitely in the right place at the right time and able to help. We appreciate the efforts of all of our volunteers and applaud the efforts of these two individuals who went above and beyond to save this young man’s life.”

The City Watch program has been running since 1997 and is always looking for new people. Get more info online at chilliwackcrimeprevention.ca/city-watch.html

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