Pubdate: Thu, 22 Sep 2016
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2016 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Andrea Woo
Page: A1

VANCOUVER FIREFIGHTERS ACT TO EASE STRAIN FROM OVERDOSE SURGE

A surge in drug overdoses that has spread across several provinces has
prompted Vancouver firefighters to redistribute resources and place
limits on shifts to ensure first responders on the front lines of an
opioid crisis aren't overwhelmed.

Vancouver's Fire Hall No. 2, which serves the Downtown Eastside, has
long been one of the busiest in North America. It used to average
roughly 650 calls a month, but soaring overdose rates - largely from
the growing prevalence of illicit fentanyl in street drugs - have
pushed that number up to more than 1,000 in both July and August.

"We certainly are registering that it's taking a toll," Fire Chief
John McKearney told city council Wednesday during an update on the
fentanyl crisis.

In Vancouver, firefighters are stationed in the Downtown Eastside fire
hall for 18 months at a time - a much shorter term than the standard
three-to fiveyear terms usually worked at other halls. But Chief
McKearney said the department is now looking at reducing that further,
to 12 months, to avoid burnout.

Fentanyl has been blamed for a significant spike in fatal overdoses in
several provinces, including British Columbia, Alberta and, more
recently, Ontario. B.C. declared a public health emergency earlier
this year, while the federal government is working on a national
response. Chief McKearney's assessment came as the B.C. Coroners
Service released new statistics on the growing death toll of illicit
drug overdoses, particularly fentanyl.

As of Aug. 31, 488 people in the province had died of drug overdoses
so far this year, an increase of 62 per cent from the same period last
year, when 505 died.

B.C. is expected to record the highest number of fatal overdoses this
year in nearly 30 years of record keeping.

So far this year, fentanyl has been detected in about 60 per cent of
all illicit overdose deaths, compared with 30 per cent in 2015.

Vancouver also confirmed the locations Wednesday of two additional
supervised drug consumption sites, both in the Downtown Eastside.

Vancouver Coastal Health has said it wants to add three to five sites,
in addition to Insite, which was the first in North America, and a
smaller site at an HIV/AIDS clinic that had been operating for years
but was finally given federal approval earlier this year.

At the centre of that increase in overdoses are first-responders,
including firefighters, paramedics and police officers - many of whom
are now armed with the lifesaving medication naloxone, which can
reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

The fire department recently decided to borrow units from less busy
halls in the city on the busiest days of the month, the week when
welfare cheques are distributed.

Similarly, during particularly busy periods of the day, some units
from Fire Hall No. 2 will be swapped out with units from a less busy
hall - as a requirement - to get some downtime.

"We're trying to be as dynamic with this as possible," Chief McKearney
said. "We have seen the mental health strain on the
department."

In the six months since equipping firefighters with naloxone, members
at Fire Hall No. 2 have used it 32 times.

The two other fire halls that have administered it most are in
Yaletown (six times) and Strathcona (five times). Vancouver
firefighters have reversed a total of 51 overdoses since February.

The Vancouver firefighters' union has posted updates on Facebook,
logging the number of calls received by Hall No. 2 with a plea to its
management, the city and province to do more to help.

Firefighters say that, without more staff and trucks, responding to
the increasing volume of overdoses is causing other parts of their
service - such as business inspections, training and fire response -
to take a hit.

Robert Weeks, head of the union, says he hasn't seen a proportional
increase in resources to meet the city's increase in needs, especially
in the Downtown Eastside.

Also at City Hall on Wednesday, Patricia Daly, chief medical health
officer at Vancouver Coastal Health, confirmed the locations for two
of the proposed supervised consumption sites.

They are 528 Powell St., which will soon become a mental health and
addictions drop-in centre, and the yet-to-be-opened Heatley Integrated
Health Centre.

Applications for these two sites are expected to be submitted within a
month.

If approved, both sites would require significant renovations before
opening.

On Tuesday, B.C. became the first province in Canada to deregulate
emergency-use naloxone, meaning it can now be sold at locations beyond
pharmacies, such as health-care sites, treatment centres and community
agencies.

The drug, available in both intramuscular and intranasal form,
reverses the effects of an opioid overdose within minutes. Naloxone
administered in the absence of opioids produces no effects, meaning
there is no abuse potential.

Toward the Heart, a B.C. government harm-reduction initiative, has
also distributed more than 13,700 take-home naloxone kits to people
who use drugs, free of charge, since it launched in August, 2012.
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