"It's important because often, especially in the city of Scranton, our firefighters are first on scene," Mr. Scanlon said. "In those critical moments of them arriving, having the life-saving medication on hand could really make the difference."

More than a dozen city firefighters on Tuesday received additional training on naloxone's use by Pennsylvania Ambulance operations manager Bruce Beauvais, who has administered naloxone on numerous occasions, he said.

"What I've seen with the nasal Narcan is they'll get up, be a little out of it," Mr. Beauvis told the class.

Firefighters have encountered overdose victims on calls before, Fire Chief Pat DeSarno said. Last week, fire crews on two calls came across people who were overdosing, the chief said. EMS had arrived and the chief did not know how those situations played out, but the extra few seconds of help could have done the victims "a lot of good." Fire Capt. John Judge said that a person passed away from an overdose more than a year ago while firefighters responded to a call.

"This stuff can save lives," Chief DeSarno said.

Not all can be saved, however. The death toll continues to grow.

Pennsylvania Ambulance provided naloxone to the city fire department, which is one of the first local departments to receive the antidote.

They join the majority of local police departments and EMS agencies that use naloxone. Police departments began using it in March 2015 and have reversed more than 40 overdoses throughout the county, Mr. Scanlon said.

The antidote works by blocking opioid receptors in the brain, effectively halting an opioid overdose. It only works for opioid overdoses, however, and not other commonly abused drugs, like alcohol or benzodiazepines.

"We're very excited," Nederhoff said. "We found a piece of equipment that not only balances the taxpayer dollars within the city of Wellsburg as well as the needs of the fire department."

One of the city's trucks, a 1985 model, had been on its last legs for the past few years, and Winger knew that the department would have to do something. The truck and its pump were both leaking, and it was only used as a last resort beginning last January.

"We mutual aid with Holland, Grundy Center and Steamboat Rock a lot, so instead of risking that truck, we would just call for other trucks to come help us," he said.

To get to this point was an uphill battle for residents. The city closed Kingston Fire Station in May of 2016 and was demolished later that summer.

Homeowners protested, held sit-ins, and signed petition to get the city council to approve funding for a new fire station. It was finally approved and for residents like Hamidullah Abudr Rahmaan have been waiting on this moment for a while.

"We struggled hard the get that fire station. The fire station is very important in any community and it is vital in Kingston," said Rahmaan.

Gwendolyn Cook Webb said the fire station was a matter of life and death. Birmingham's fire chief said without it, an additional two minutes were tacked on to call times.

"Without a fire station you missing part of the life. It's where you go and have there were two fires, two terrible fires," said Webb.

Now Webb is feeling a lot better about the situation.

"It makes me feel much safer that if I think she is about to be rebuilt in the modern technology that it's going to be placed in it," she said.

Birmingham City Councilor William Parker serves the Kingston community and was a part of the efforts to get the fire station approved.

The 10,468 square-foot building is more than double the size of the old station, which was built in the early 1960s. It was constructed to withstand sustained 150 mph wind, according to a Jefferson Parish news release.

The facility, which includes a kitchen and sleeping quarters, can house essential personnel during a Category 3 hurricane, parish officials say.

Construction of the fire station was funded with a dedicated millage for the Eastbank Consolidated Fire Department. The contractor for the project was Construction Masters Inc. Digital Imaging Engineering designed and constructed the building.