An increased response to overdose calls in the City of Moncton.
Fire Chief Conrad Landry says there were over 65 calls between Friday and Tuesday, and reports indicate there have been even more since then.
He adds that the average is four to five calls per day, so there’s a big increase.
“All our firefighters are trained to respond to medical calls, and that’s a service that we want to provide to the community. Sometimes we’re there before the ambulance arrives, so that’s a service we want to provide. We do have Naloxone and other types of medication and some advanced medical training to provide that service,” Landry adds.
He says that when they are responding to those calls, they’re not available for other calls, including fires, so they have to rely on mutual aid partners and other municipalities to assist.
“We’re hearing some unresearched information that might be a bad batch of drugs that came in. So that’s concerning for the health and well-being of these people that are taking it, and then it’s putting a strain on our resources for sure,” Landry stressed.
In the meantime, a reminder from the New Brunswick RCMP that the use of illegal drugs carries significant risks.
In an email to our newsroom, they stated there are highly dangerous and potentially lethal substances currently in circulation, and individuals cannot be certain of what a substance may contain.
“It is important to note that overdose calls are, by nature, medical emergencies and do not necessarily involve criminal activity. As such, police may not attend every incident if there is no indication of a crime.”
Codiac RCMP Corporal Luc Picard noted in the email statement.
He also said the RCMP did not detect anything out of the ordinary this past weekend, based on what they respond to regularly, but he also stressed overdose calls are medical emergencies and do not necessarily involve criminal activity, which means police may not attend every incident if there is no indication of a crime.
The Moncton Fire Department will begin using a smaller vehicle to assist in responding to medical calls, and staff are currently in training to operate it.
“As of July 1st, we’re going to have a smaller vehicle that’s going to mostly focus on medical calls with two firefighters in it. So that’s going to help reduce the stress on the fire department for sure,” Landry said.
The New Brunswick Minister responsible for Addiction and Mental Health Services said they are also working with community partners, and non-profits, to make sure that there is awareness around the toxicity of drugs as well as the available services.
“We’re concerned about community safety and well-being. We’re working with community partners to better understand the situation and assess what we can do to improve it. It’s a concern when there’s potent drugs on the streets that are doing this, so we’re actively monitoring any trends, and we continue to work with partners to ensure that naloxone kits are available,” Rob McKee said.
He adds that they are encouraging anyone who is going to consume to do so with peers or at the overdose prevention site and to utilize drug checking services that are available.
