Skyrocketing overdose calls spark increased Nanaimo Fire Rescue responses

Fire Rescue responded to 9,872 incidents in all of 2022, according to Doyle, with 672 (6.8 per cent) being overdose-related.

Between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31, 2023, firefighters were dispatched 8,060 times, with roughly 15 per cent of those overdose-related.

“If at the current pace, in terms of incidents…in total this year, we should finish this year around 12,000 incidents,” Doyle stated.

Numbers of overdose-related call-outs for firefighters have fluctuated in recent years, due in part to the pandemic and changes to response models.

In 2018, firefighters in Nanaimo were paged out to 458 overdose calls with a further 337 reported in 2019. Doyle said mandates from the provincial level at the time meant fire departments were not tasked with as many medical incident calls.

The volume of calls dropped to 271 in 2020 but began a sharp rise in the years since with 507 in 2021.

Doyle said an estimated $153,927, excluding first responder wages, would be saved if local crews did not respond to medical calls of any kind in 2022.

However, this would also compromise patient outcomes and increase the probability of patient deaths.

Councillors expressed several concerns, including coun. Ian Thorpe who asked if any other incidents, such as fires or motor vehicle collisions, had a delayed response due to firefighters being tied up with a medical call.

Doyle said it is their duty to stay with a patient until they are loaded into the ambulance and in the care of paramedics.

Proactive planning, including purchasing of new equipment, has meant simultaneous calls aren’t overly problematic at this time.

“Our concurrent calls, so the time we respond to concurrent calls, that doesn’t necessarily mean an overdose and a fire or an overdose and an MVI…it’s just two calls occurring at the same time, is about 20 per cent of the time.”

Further help is expected in 2025 with an additional ladder truck expected to be fully staffed.

Response times have also decreased since last year by twenty seconds, while the average on-scene time also went down by almost two minutes.

Coun. Janice Perrino asked about the toll the increase in overdose-related calls has on firefighter’s mental health, considering what they see daily.

Doyle said he thinks the impact on all first responders is extremely significant.

“The B.C. Municipal Safety Association has been doing some analysis on firefighters… in the population they study for municipalities, firefighters’ mental health claims, I don’t have the numbers in front of me, but I believe they are approximately 65 per cent, and I believe the average cost of that group they studied exceeded $200,000.”

Numerous mental, physical, and holistic wellness programs support NFR members, Doyle noted.

When asked what city councils could do to help, Doyle suggested joining other local governments in requesting financial support to recoup costs linked to all forms of medical calls responded to by fire crews.

During the 2023 Union of British Columbia Municipalities convention, Prince George put forth a resolution asking the province to develop a funding model to compensate local governments who provide emergency medical services through their fire departments.

A similar resolution was made in 2004 by Surrey, however, the province has yet to provide any such funding model.

Eighty-nine people died in the first nine months of the year due to toxic drug use, according to recently released BC Coroners Service Data.

Nanaimo’s previous record of deaths in a single year was 77, which was set last year.

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by NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

Skyrocketing overdose calls spark increased Nanaimo Fire Rescue responses

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