North Bay Fire and Emergency Services crews will have access to Naloxone to administer when responding to incidents involving possible opioid overdose.
NBFES has consulted with the North Bay Paramedic Service and the North Bay Health Unit and they have agreed that now is the appropriate time for the Fire Service to have the medicine available for firefighting personnel as the opioid crisis worsens.
Deputy Chief Greg Saunders says “North Bay Paramedics do a terrific job managing these incidents. Firefighters having Naloxone is a necessary second option in cases where we arrive on scene in advance of our local paramedics. Overdose is currently the third leading cause of accidental death in the province with one death by overdose every 13 hours.”
Saunders says firefighters have been trained to recognize the signs of a patient suffering an opioid overdose and will now have the tools available to provide the necessary life-saving medication that will counter the effects of the narcotic. The medicine will also be available to personnel in the case of an accidental exposure at an incident.
