Methamphetamine and fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, were found in a rural home near Albuquerque, N.M., where more than a dozen emergency responders were sickened this week, the authorities said on Friday.
The New Mexico State Police cautioned at an afternoon news conference that the investigation remained underway and that toxicology tests were pending.
Several emergency workers began reporting symptoms, including dizziness and being nauseated, as they entered the house on Wednesday after responding to a report of an overdose, the authorities said.
More than a dozen emergency medical workers were quarantined and underwent decontamination procedures.
“Preliminary findings indicate this incident is tied to exposure to a powdered opioid substance within the home,” Matt Broom, the interim chief of the New Mexico State Police, said at the news conference.
Inside the home, in Mountainair, a small town about 65 miles southeast of Albuquerque, responders found four people unconscious, the authorities said.
Two people were pronounced dead at the scene and a third died later at a hospital.
The State Police identified two of the victims as Mika Rascon, 51, and Georgia Rascon, 49.
The authorities withheld the third victim’s identity pending notification of relatives.
Investigators said they found no signs that drugs were being manufactured inside the home.
In total, the authorities said, 25 people were believed to have been exposed to the substances. Twenty people were treated and discharged and two remain hospitalized.
Investigators said they did not believe the substances were airborne, and that there was no broader threat to the public.
They said emergency responders may have been exposed through direct contact with people in the house while trying to revive them.
Toxicologists and federal health agencies have previously said incidental skin contact with fentanyl is unlikely to cause rapid overdose symptoms, though investigators said on Friday they were still determining exactly what caused the illnesses.
After the responders appeared to be sickened, hazardous materials teams, state health officials and federal investigators also went to the Mountainair home.
Mark Walker is a Times reporter who covers breaking news and culture.
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