By Ian Holmes

New focus on mental wellness reaping rewards for Nanaimo Fire Rescue

Feb 13, 2019 | 1:57 PM

NANAIMO — A cultural shift is underway within Nanaimo’s fire department, aimed at addressing the mental health toll caused by the overdose crisis.

Nanaimo Fire Rescue chief Karen Fry said 100 firefighters underwent resiliency training over the past several months to help members identify mental health distress and seek treatment options earlier.

“I’m really proud of the department for the work that they’re putting into it and that we’re talking openly about mental health and stress related injuries,” Fry told NanaimoNewsNOW.

She said the effects of the rampant overdose crisis made it clear more mental health attention was required for their members.

Several NFR members are trained to provide resiliency support on a continuous basis, a program Fry said was developed by the Canadian Mental Health Association and BC Professional Firefighters.

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Fry recently spoke at the inaugural BC First Responders Mental Health conference in Richmond.

NFR data showed their members responded to a staggering 458 overdoses in 2018, an increase from 288 three years prior.

NFR assistant chief Geoff Whiting said the entire department is on board with paying closer attention to their mental health.

“Giving them these new tools to help deal with their mental health and recognize any problems they may be having has been really well received,” he said.

Whiting, an in-house resiliency trainer, said after years of emergency responders masking mental trauma the stigma is being lifted.

“That’s been the problem in the past, they’ve had tough skin, they’ve tried push any issues they’ve had down and just get on with their jobs. We’re recognizing that’s not healthy for them.”

Seventy-five overdose-reversing naloxone injections were given by firefighters in Nanaimo last year, well up from 39 in 2017.

Paramedics in Nanaimo meanwhile responded to 637 overdose and poisoning calls last year, significantly more than double the 2015 number. A majority of those responses by local paramedics were due to illicit drug use, according to the agency’s Shannon Miller.

She said in-house peer supports for their paramedics are in place to help address mental health fatigue.

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes