Edmonton firefighters deploy naloxone nearly every other day as Alberta opioid crisis continues

Edmonton firefighters administered naloxone almost every other day from June to August, new numbers fromthe province show.

The life-saving medication is used as an overdose antidote to opioidssuch asfentanyl, apowerful and often deadly narcotic.

• What is Fentanyl?
• How Alberta's fentanyl crisis escalated despite warnings

Fire rescue staff in Edmonton used naloxone during 58 medical events from February to August,according to an Alberta Health report released August 16. Of thoseevents, 27 occurred in the 61 days betweenJune 8 andAugust 8.

"The amount of overdose calls Edmonton Fire Rescue Services receives is troubling," spokesperson Maya Filipovic wrote in an email to CBC News Thursday.

"However, we are pleased that our crews are trained and equipped and ready to respond and help," she added.

"It is sad to note that that number of people have needed the injection this year, but our firefighters have arrived in a timely fashion and been able to assist in these overdose situations."

More than 600 dead

In Alberta, 609people died fromapparent drug overdoses related to fentanylbetweenJanuary 2016 andAugust 2017.

More than one-third of the deaths occurred in the first half of 2017.

To curb Alberta's opioid crisis, Health Minister Sarah Hoffman said the province is pushing for federal permission to open new supervised injection sites.

• Province'moving very quickly' to get approval for Edmonton supervised injection sites

"When we get that approval, we'll make sure that Edmonton is up and operational as soon as possible," Hoffman told reporters at the Alberta legislature Thursday.

In May, Edmonton city council voted unanimously in favour of openingthree supervised injection sites at local community centres.

Edmonton has accountedfor one-third of the province's fentanyl-related drug overdose deaths in 2017. Most people who overdosed lived outside the city centre, according to the Alberta Health report.

Since January 2016,the number of overdose deaths in Alberta appears to have stabilized but remains significant, the report concludes.