Fear, fatigue weigh down workers on the front lines of Saskatoon's overdose crisis
Emergency responders, advocates grapple with hundreds of overdoses in the span of weeks
Burnout is a very real concern these days at Fire Station #1 in downtown Saskatoon.
The fire station's central location on Idylwyld Drive means its crews are often the ones responding to overdose calls. In recent weeks, they've been busy as the city grapples with a poisoned drug supply circulating since February.
For five days beginning March 1, the Saskatoon Fire Department responded to an average of 19 overdoses per day. There were 37 overdose calls in one 24-hour period last week and the several recent suspicious deaths might be overdose-related, according to the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA).
Exhaustion is setting in at Fire Station #1, along with frustration over a seemingly insurmountable addiction crisis, said Saskatoon firefighter Jayden Poirier in an interview with Saskatoon Morning.
"We're going to the same people multiple times a day," Poirier said. "We're going to an overdose and the person still has a hospital wristband on that's dated for that day or the day before."
An SHA alert issued on March 6 said the flood of overdoses indicate that "an unusually potent and potentially lethal substance is circulating in the Saskatoon area." The alert described the harmful substance as light pink chunks, dark purple chunks or other unknown substances.
Poirier said he's recently noticed more signs of burnout among the crews responding to overdoses. Peer support is available and they do their best to check in on each other, he said.
"The overwhelming feeling that we get as we're driving in the fire truck up and down these streets, going to these calls over and over again, the overwhelming feeling is people are dying," Poirier said.
"And it seems society is OK with that because nothing's changing."
Last week, Prairie Harm Reduction on 20th Street West temporarily closed its drop-in centre because staff were redeployed into the community. PHR's safe consumption site remains open.
Staff were "walking alleys, handing out naloxone kits, driving around and trying to find whomever they can to give them to, which also resulted in them finding people who have overdosed and needed medical support," said PHR executive director Kayla DeMong in an interview with Saskatoon Morning.
DeMong said the overdoses — more than 230 since Feb. 24 by PHR's count — are happening across the city and across demographics, not just in the core neighbourhoods or to people living on the streets. She wants the SHA to declare a public health emergency.
"The strain and the pressure that this is putting on our community organizations and on our emergency services is not sustainable," DeMong said.
"We are all crumbling because we can't keep up. It should be [SHA's] job at this point to come in and provide some of those resources."
That's also a concern at Fire Station #1. When the fire department is tied up with overdose calls, it affects response times for other emergencies, Poirier said.
"It's not uncommon for every single truck in this fire hall to be out on different calls so it's frustrating because there's no firefighters available for a fire," Poirier said.
"If there's another emergency, the trucks are coming from further away."
Free take-home naloxone kits are available at more than 450 locations across the province.
The SHA said people who witness an overdose and call 911 are protected by the federal Good Samaritan Act, which shields them from simple possession charges when seeking help for themselves or others.
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With files from Saskatoon Morning