The Carroll County’s local law enforcement agencies are partnering with the county’s department of public safety to equip officers with better masks and gloves as they increasingly face extremely potent opioids, such as carfentanil and fentanyl, when responding to overdose calls.

The Carroll County Times reports:

Deputies with the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office already have heavy-duty gas masks that they use in riot situations, Sheriff Jim DeWees said. But the masks are bulky and hard to put on while trying to respond to a call, he said.

Instead, the deputies and other law enforcement will be equipped with N95 masks.

The Department of Public Safety is working to make sure every sworn officer in the county is given the appropriate protection, said Doug Brown, emergency management coordinator.

The N95 masks are smaller face protection that have a better filtering system than a typical dust mask a person might use when doing construction in their home.

“You have to breathe a little harder to get air through the N95 mask because the filtering is better,” Brown said.

Fire companies are already equipped with the masks and the proper equipment, Brown said.

Read The Carroll County Times to learn more.