Tewksbury business' opioid exposure kits in high demand among police

TEWKSBURY, Mass. — A Tewksbury company is helping keep police officers safe from opioid exposure while growing its business.

Ted Morang, Sr., has been selling hardware, construction and safety products for decades, but his newest venture is a unique one.

"It's a first of its kind," said Morang, owner of Bennett Noble LLC, DBA A&A Albeco. "This has taken on its own life, because of what's happening. People are dying, law enforcement are getting sick."

Morang told Boston 25 News he was first approached by Tewksbury police, interested in safety gear to protect officers from exposure to potentially deadly drugs, fentanyl and carfentanil.

As Morang was working with Tewksbury, three police officers in Chelsea last month were hospitalized for exposure to fentanyl while responding to a car crash in which the occupants had overdosed.

"When Tewksbury brought this to me, I said, 'Yeah, I can sell you this stuff.' I didn't think anything of it until Chelsea happened," Morang said. "My first phone call Monday morning, early, early, was from the Chelsea Police Department. They needed to react."

The Tewksbury police chief had sent Morang's information to fellow chiefs throughout the state through the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, Morang said. Dozens of other calls followed.

"It's literally 24/7," Morang said. "My wife can tell you, at 2 a.m., when I get up because my phone just went off, it's a detective or a sergeant."

Responding to calls and emails at all times of day, Morang quickly began filling orders for the kits.

Each $25 kit contains a Tyvek suit, custom-ordered with an attached hood and boots, as well as a safety mask, protective googles and gloves.

The items, which can be ordered in various sizes, are simple products anyone can buy. But Morang says he is selling high-quality gear that meets or surpasses state recommendations to best protect first-responders and packaging it in a unique way that makes it easy to access in an emergency situation.

Some agencies, particularly larger departments, already have similar gear, but others are rushing to prepare for such emergencies.

Morang says he has sold about 1,200 kits to about approximately 50 police departments, including a few colleges, and fire departments. He is also working with several other police departments on quotes. The customers are in both Massachusetts and now New Hampshire.

Morang said he and his employees take pride in providing a product that could save a first-responder's life.

"When you're in the business of selling safety products, you want to make sure that these guys are going home at the end of their shift," Morang said.

Cox Media Group