Antonette Alguire, a volunteer firefighter in Mountainair, helped perform CPR on a woman outside the home and watched as EMTs and firefighters started coughing, vomiting and becoming dizzy at the heliport, she said. Alguire said the experience was scary, even though she didn’t go inside and didn’t experience any symptoms.

She wondered if first responders might have to do more to protect themselves in the future.

“It’s getting to that point where we just have to live in fear, even saving lives,” she said.

Investigators are working to identify the substance. Mountainair Mayor Peter Nieto said he saw drugs at the scene and pointed to that as a possible factor in the deaths. He said the health issues people experienced were not related to carbon monoxide or natural gas exposure.

New Mexico State Police said there was no threat to the public.

“At this time, investigators believe the substance may be transmitted through contact and do not believe it to be airborne,” said Officer Wilson Silver.

Nearly two dozen patients were assessed and decontaminated after being exposed to the substance, the University of New Mexico Hospital said. Most of those were first responders who were showing no symptoms and later were discharged, hospital officials said. Three symptomatic patients were being monitored Wednesday evening, the hospital said.

As law enforcement officers from multiple agencies remained on the scene late Wednesday afternoon, three bodies were placed onto gurneys and then loaded into a white van and driven away.

Yellow tape surrounded the home along a dirt road. A singlewide trailer could be seen in the home’s backyard, with several cars, trucks and vans in the driveway.

The mayor described Mountainair as a tight-knit community of fewer than 1,000 people. Town hall will be closed Thursday because of the emotional toll on employees, he said.

“A tragedy like this is horrific,” he said.

Residents voiced frustration on social media about drug use in the community and elsewhere. New Mexico had the fourth-highest rate of drug overdose deaths of any U.S. state in 2024, with 775 deaths, according to the most recent data available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

TRUMP ROILS SENATE GOP AMID STRUGGLES WITH IMMIGRATION BILL

Nieto said on social media that the town’s law enforcement officers and first responders work daily to protect the community and respond to difficult situations.

“But the reality is that addiction and substance abuse are issues affecting communities all across our state and nation,” Nieto said. “There is no simple or immediate solution. Lasting change requires family support, accountability, education, and most importantly, individuals who are willing to accept help.”

This story has been updated to correct that law enforcement officers remained on the scene late Wednesday afternoon, not Tuesday. It also corrects attribution to Nieto about possible factors in the deaths.