MIDDLEBORO – Middleboro Firefighter Jay Myers looked up to his dad as a child, admiring the “big strong man’’ who was a strict father and a hard-working firefighter and paramedic.

“Only a train could take this man down,’’ Myers thought.

He was wrong.

Something else took him down: A small pill, one that was legally prescribed by a doctor that led to a big addiction.

Myers shared his story Tuesday at “Fake and Fatal,’’ a drug abuse awareness program held at Middleboro Town Hall. The program aimed to educate the public about the prevalence of opioids and their all too often deadly consequences.

For Myers’ father, the spiral began when he injured his back while working as an EMT. The chronic pain “brought him to his knees,’’ Myers recalled.

His doctor prescribed Oxycontin, a medication “that was supposed to be life-changing.’’

And it was. But not in the way his father expected.

“We didn’t know how addictive it was.’’

They soon found out. His father dropped weight, experienced a change in skin color, and lost the ability to complete tasks.

Within five years, his father’s life had spiraled, as his addiction grew and his pill use was mixed at times with alcohol. He died at 43, found sitting on his couch, where he had apparently been sorting through mail.

“It only took about four to five years to destroy a life of hard work,’’ his son said.

Behind every overdose, there is a person and a family, speakers at the program noted.

That makes public education vital so that people understand the dangers, speakers said.

Nearly 112,000 people died of overdoses in 2022, the vast majority involving fentanyl, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Fentanyl is approved by the FDA for pain relief and anesthetic. But when abused or obtained from sources other than legitimate medical suppliers, the drug can be lethal.

Sometimes its victims are young people who simply want to take a pill. They do not realize that traffickers often lace these pills with fentanyl, sometimes in lethal amounts, said Brian O’Keefe, Drug Enforcement Administration New England regional outreach coordinator.

The pills are often made to resemble Adderall, Xanax or Oxycontin, he said. Fake prescription pills are easily accessible and often sold on social media and over the internet, making them available to anyone with a smartphone, according to Drug Enforcement Administration material.

Drug Enforcement Administration officials report a dramatic rise in the number of fake pills containing at least 2 milligrams of fentanyl, an amount smaller than a pencil tip but considered a potentially lethal dose.

The look-alikes can fool even law enforcement, O’Keefe said. “If we as professionals can’t tell, do you think your sons and daughters can?’’ he asked. “They can’t.’’

His agency is reaching out to the public with messaging “One pill can kill.’’

“These young kids aren’t looking to die,’’ he said. “They’re looking to have a good time.’’

Those in the audience were urged to spread the word about the dangers of opioids.

“You’ve got to talk to your kids, you’ve got to talk to your community,’’ O’Keefe said.