Delaware Firefighter Earns Invitation to Narcan Olympics

A Delaware firefighter earned the right to compete in the 2020 Narcan Olympics after successfully reviving his 500th overdose victim during yesterday’s First Friday celebration in downtown Delaware.

John “Long Dart” Jenkins, a 5 year veteran with Delaware City Fire Department, revived a local woman suffering from a heroin overdose. Well known for his Narcan heroics, Jenkins, without ever leaving his truck, threw a needle skyward so that it careened down directly into the patient’s shoulder.

Jenkins started making a name for himself among first responders in 2017 when he used a blowgun to shoot a Narcan dart over 100 yards and save an Ohio Wesleyan student who was overdosing in Bicentennial Park, which sits directly behind the fire station on Liberty Road. That incident earned Jenkins his nickname and made Bicentennial Park one of the safest places to overdose in the city.

The Narcan Olympics takes place every 2 years and features the world’s top firefighters, EMTs, and law enforcement officers. Participants can earn their way in through regional competitions or by achieving specific milestones. The 2020 event will take place in Dayton, Ohio — the county seat of Montgomery County, the overdose capital of the United States.

Fire Chief John Donahue says Jenkins is one of his best and that he had zero doubt he would be competing at the highest level.

“John has made handling drug overdoses a theatrical performance, a game of skill. I hate to see people suffering, but I’d fill a football stadium full of junkies and watch him clear them out any day of the week,” Donahue said. “This is a man who once exited an ambulance, ran full speed toward a pool, climbed the diving board, and executed a perfect swan dive into the water where he injected a drowning overdose victim directly in the buttocks. He then pulled her out of the water and administered CPR to revive her fully.”

Jenkins attributes his success to his background in competitive shooting and his general disregard for junkies, which enables him to take more risks.

“For every five cases I’ve handled that have gone well, there’s one that’s fell flat. You don’t hear about those because it’s easy to say we didn’t get there on time or whatever, but truth be told, I’ve tried some crazy stunts that haven’t worked out. Nonetheless, practice makes perfect, and I’m honored to have the opportunity to represent my department and the city of Delaware in 2020,” Jenkins said.