Sask. firefighters are responding to more overdose calls — and it's taking a toll

Sam Maciag · CBC News

· Posted: May 24, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

Joel McNair and his squad outpouring into enactment the infinitesimal the doorbell rings astatine the Number 1 occurrence presumption successful Saskatoon, sliding down the occurrence pole, jumping onto a occurrence truck and speeding disconnected to the call.

More often than not these days successful the city, firefighters are being called to a cause overdose. A seasoned of 22 years, McNair said it wasn't ever that way.

"People are openly taking fentanyl. We don't inquire them if they've taken heroin. We inquire them if they've taken fentanyl," helium told big Sam Maciag connected the CBC podcast This is Saskatchewan. "The different happening that's happening present is they're putting different drugs successful there, which makes it harder for the Narcan." 

McNair said Saskatoon occurrence crews had responded to 1,088 overdose calls this year, arsenic of May 15. He dug into the archives of his circumstantial presumption and recovered that successful 2000, they responded to 3,385 calls of immoderate benignant during the full year. As of May 15, Number 1 presumption had responded to 500 calls much than that (3,885), with much than six months to go.

Saskatchewan's Ministry of Health has issued astatine slightest 3 overdose alerts for Saskatoon truthful acold this year. The astir caller came successful May aft the occurrence section responded to 30 cause overdoses implicit 3 days. Another successful February alerted the nationalist to 14 overdoses successful 24 hours, and different successful March — possibly the astir alarming — to 37 overdoses successful 24 hours.

The spike successful March was truthful superior that Saskatoon's lone supervised depletion site, Prairie Harm Reduction, closed its doors for astir 2 weeks to springiness its exhausted unit a break. During that time, 2 room branches successful Saskatoon besides closed, saying unit weren't equipped to woody with the fig of overdoses happening successful their space.

Things successful Regina aren't overmuch better. Firefighters are responding to importantly much overdoses than occurrence calls.

"My grounds — if you privation to telephone it a record, if you're keeping way — is 4 overdoses earlier lunch, 2 to the aforesaid code for antithetic people," said Tyler Packham, who is president of Regina Professional Fire Fighters L181 and has much than 2 decades of work nether his belt.

McNair and Packham hold the caller world is taking a antithetic benignant of toll connected occurrence crews, peculiarly erstwhile it comes to repetition users.

McNair, successful betterment himself from intoxicant addiction, sees each telephone arsenic an accidental for idiosyncratic to marque a change. But not each firefighters are capable to spot it that way.

"It turns you a small spot hard. It turns you a small spot crass. It turns you a small spot judgmental. It turns you a small spot opinionated astatine times, and that is not a bully spot to be," Packham said.

That's wherever Nick Carleton comes in. He's a prof of objective science astatine the University of Regina and the pb researcher astatine the Psychological Trauma and Stress Lab. His enactment focuses connected supporting the intelligence wellness of trauma-exposed professionals, including archetypal responders and different nationalist information personnel, health-care workers, subject members and veterans.

Carleton said dispatching firefighters to overdose calls should beryllium an extraordinary, impermanent band-aid solution to assistance overwhelmed ambulances and hospitals, not the norm that it's become.

"In the wide population, we mightiness beryllium exposed to 5 oregon less perchance psychologically traumatic events successful our full lifetime," helium said, noting that archetypal responders could beryllium exposed to that galore successful a day.

"We request to admit the toll that we are tasking connected each of our archetypal responders and we person to bash a mode amended occupation of supporting them."

Packham said Regina firefighters lone person $300 of sum to spot a counsellor oregon societal idiosyncratic each year. With communal rates astir $200 per hour, that doesn't spell precise far.

Carleton suggests archetypal responders get acquainted with PSPNET, an online work that provides free, confidential, online cognitive behaviour therapy. As for the opioid crisis, helium said each levels of authorities request to commencement talking and get invested.

"There is nary metallic bullet, There's nary magic solution here. In galore ways we're deploying our archetypal responders to effort and navigate poorness astatine this point," helium said. "We're having them effort and collectively navigate addiction, which is simply a immense wellness related contented and it should beryllium treated arsenic a health-related problem, but it is besides associated with difficulties with things similar poverty."

At the extremity of the day, McNair and Packham accidental that erstwhile the doorbell rings, they ever roll. If idiosyncratic wants to beryllium a firefighter, they'll promote them portion besides sharing the realities of the job. They cognize radical trust connected them now more than ever.

"It's the top occupation ever," Packham said. "It is, it inactive is."

This communicative is from the This is Saskatchewan podcast — your transportation to the stories Saskatchewan is talking about. Every week, we cover section issues that matter. Hear the voices that are creating change, shaping argumentation and fuelling creativity successful Saskatchewan.

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