NYC EMS Roasts Their Drugs

A piping-hot radiator placed next to a locker full of drugs in a Harlem EMS station made a state health inspector's blood run cold last week.

The ambulance unit's entire narcotic supply - 20 vials each of morphine, Valium and midazolam - was tossed after it was discovered that temperatures inside Station 16 had reached a steamy 92 degrees and were likely higher inside the metal locker, sources said.

The narcotics start to lose their potency - and run the risk of altering their chemical compositions - when temperatures top 86 degrees, according to the manufacturers' guidelines.

When a drug's chemical compound alters, "severe allergic reactions could occur," a Manhattan doctor told The Post.

"Heat changes the composition, and you don't know who's going to have a bad response," said Dr. Tom Bolte, a Midtown physician.

"It could be life-threatening for some patients."

Medics told The Post they've been complaining for years about the ancient heating system at Station 16 in Harlem Hospital and how it routinely bakes the facility - and the lock box - during the winter.

All Station 16 ambulances were taken out of service Thursday morning and sent to a neighboring EMS house to switch out their potentially tainted meds with new ones, sources said.