KILLER HEROIN BATCH

TWO people have died and 27 have collapsed in one of Melbourne's worst
heroin overdose outbreaks.

A new super-potent batch of the drug stretched the city's ambulance service
to the limit in the 24 hours to 9am yesterday.

At one stage, officers battled to deal with three overdoses in five minutes
as addicts continued to fall.

With each overdose response costing about $700, the 24-hour heroin
emergency bill came in at more than $20,000.

And the Salvation Army has reported people are becoming addicted at earlier
ages. Some as young as 13 have sought help from its rehabilitation services.

The overdoses were spread across Melbourne.

A man, 25, was found slumped pathetically in a paddock in Heidelberg and
within hours another user collapsed in a restaurant in South Yarra.

One of the deaths was at Cranbourne where a woman, 20, was found dead in
her bed. The other, a Noble Park man aged 26, also died at home.

Both were seasoned users who had been treated before by ambulance staff.
The woman had been revived with Narcan just 24 hours before her fatal
collapse.

Ambulance sources reported only two overdoses from 9am yesterday as
warnings about the strength of the batch of heroin hit home.

But they fear it is only a matter of time before they are battling the next
spate of overdoses.

The victims ranged from the early teens to middle-age.

Ambulance spokesman John Fasham said that while officers did not condone
heroin use, those who felt compelled to use it should not do so alone
because there would be no help on hand if they collapsed.

But that was no help to a man who nearly died after shooting up with
"friends" in a Heidelberg paddock.

"They left when they thought he'd died," Mr Fasham said.

"It was only when some people working at an office saw him that an
ambulance was called. He would have died."

When the man's companions realised the police had not been called they
returned to the scene, but were more hindrance than help.

Mr Fasham said one of them constantly badgered ambulance officers for a
light for his cigarette as they worked to save the victim.

He somehow survived.

Captain David Brunt of the Salvation Army said it was disturbing to see
people as young as 13 seeking help with rehabilitation.

"The age-group seems to be decreasing all the time," Captain Brunt said.

He said the low price of heroin also seemed to be an attractive factor for
young people.

The most recent spate of overdoses compared with a Melbourne average of
about five cases a day.

Ambulance officer Tim Kay noted the overdoses were not confined to one area.

"When you get a strong batch, it is usually localised, but this one is not
only concentrated in the inner city, but as far as Melton in the west,
Craigieburn in the north and Strathmore and Doncaster," Mr Kay said.