Two people died and another ended up in the hospital Sunday afternoon night after a string of suspected overdoses in a 2½-hour period in Butler, authorities said.

It’s believed opioids — likely heroin — are to blame for the two deaths.

Butler police and city firefighters were first called shortly before 2:30 p.m. to a home in the 200 block of North Bluff Street where a 31-year-old woman was reportedly unconscious and turning blue.

Officials were still trying to locate the next of kin this morning and had not released the woman’s name.

She was from Greensburg, Westmoreland County, and had been living at the home that authorities described as a sober-living residence or half-way house.

Another person living there found the unresponsive woman and called 911, reporting the apparent heroin overdose. Police later recovered two hypodermic needles — one empty and one filled with brown liquid, believed to be heroin.

By the time emergency crews arrived, the woman was already dead. Butler County Deputy Coroner Larry Barr pronounced her dead about 3 p.m.

An autopsy was conducted but a cause of death is still pending the results of toxicology reports

A little more than an hour later, crews were called to a home on East Boyd Avenue for another overdose that proved fatal.

A relative found the 34-yearold man about 3:40 p.m. and called 911. The caller reported the man had overdosed and was “cold to the touch,” authorities said,

Investigators did not immediately release the name of the man, who is not from Butler County.

He had a “very faint pulse” when crews arrived, according to the Butler Fire Department. Paramedics began cardiopulmonary resuscitation that continued while the man was rushed by ambulance to Butler Memorial Hospital.

He was pronounced dead at the hospital that evening. An autopsy was performed and investigators are awaiting toxicology reports before listing a cause of death.

Butler police are investigating the two suspected fatal overdose cases but reports were still incomplete as of this afternoon.

The third overdose call Sunday came in just before 5 p.m., authorities said. Emergency crews were sent to a home in the 300 block of Center Avenue for the report of a 20-year-old woman who had overdosed.

There, the fire department said, rescuers found the alleged victim, Karlee A. Quinn of Butler, conscious and “running around.”

She was reportedly taken to Butler hospital for treatment. The type of drug she is suspected of overdosing on was not known.

But the day before, police were called to the same home where they believe Quinn had deliberately taken an overdose of Ritalin, a prescription drug used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Following the call about 7 p.m. Saturday, she was taken to the Butler Memorial Hospital for treatment.