Excerpts from nbcnewyork.com:
Officials credited a smoke inhalation drug for likely saving the life of a New York City firefighter who fell unconscious and stopped breathing while battling a house fire Friday. He was one of three firefighters injured at the scene in the Bronx. All are expected to recover.
The firefighter was inside the house operating a hose when he began having problems breathing and collapsed. He was pulled from the building by other firefighters who started CPR. EMS personnel also gave the firefighter the hydroxocobalamin, which combats the effects of cyanide poisoning that can result from smoke inhalation. Officials believe the drug saved the firefighter’s life. He and another firefighter were in stable condition at a hospital, while the third firefighter was released from a hospital.
Hydroxocobalamin was first approved for treating smoke inhalation in 2006 by the Food and Drug Administration. It is a manufactured, injectable version of vitamin B12, according to federal health agencies.
France began using the drug to treat smoke inhalation in the mid-1990s.
