Edmonton firefighters respond to ~9,000 overdose calls, up 30% from 2022

Edmonton firefighters will have responded to about 9,000 overdose calls in 2023, a 30 per cent increase from last year.

That stark spike has the fire chief promising to review the department’s deployment around medical calls.

“The increase year over year is not sustainable,” Joe Zatylny said in his year-end interview Tuesday.

5:48 Edmonton outreach team says drug poisonings becoming more challenging to reverse

Calls for opioid misuse and other overdoses are running Edmonton first responders off their feet.

“This crisis has been extremely difficult for our firefighters,” Zatylny said. “I’d like to acknowledge the toll it takes on first responders and for their continued compassionate and dedicated service.

“Medical calls, specifically those around opioid and overdoses, continue to be a serious concern for our service.

“As of Nov. 30, 2023, we responded to 8,521 overdose calls. The top three locations are around the downtown and central Edmonton area. In comparison, crews responded to 6,552 overdose calls in 2022, so that’s an approximately 30 per cent increase this year.”

2:03 Alberta data reveals deadliest month for toxic drug fatalities in 7 years

Of the Edmonton Fire Rescue Service’s roughly 90,000 total calls in 2023, 70 per cent are medical, Zatylny said.

According to the Alberta substance use surveillance system, from January to September, 651 deaths were recorded. The website does not show the number of deaths over the last three months.

Across Alberta, in just the first week of December, emergency crews responded to 140 calls. The peak was during the first week of July when there were 358 drug poisoning calls.

1:59 Another record-breaking week of overdoses, ambulance trips in Alberta