Vancouver Fire Rescue Services warns of burnout as overdose calls rise

With crews responding to a record number of overdoses alongside all their regular calls this year, firefighters in Vancouver say they are experiencing burnout and high levels of stress.

Vancouver Fire Rescue Services (VFRS) public information officer Matt Trudeau says, so far, the numbers only go up to the end of last month, but between January and November, crews responded to nearly 8,200 overdoses. That comes out to about 25 to 30 calls a day.

“The average per day has gone up and, obviously, as a result, our yearly totals have continually gone up. While there was a slight reduction last year by a small amount — in 2021 being the highest at 7,767 — we have already greatly exceeded that historic number of overdoses,” he told CityNews.

“They want to go out and help others and this is a very daunting task and uphill battle, for sure … While you make individual efforts to help, the numbers keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger. So it’s incredibly hard on members seeing this level of suffering every day.”

Trudeau says the calls are heavily centred in the Downtown Eastside. He adds firefighters are limited when it comes to how many shifts they can work at Fire Hall No. 2 — in an attempt to preserve their mental health.

“Because of the exposure to violent incidents, to the suffering, to extreme calls that are constant there, usually we cap members at 81 shifts … Typically, 81 shifts is around a year for most people, then we typically will rotate them to a different hall to get out of that area. Again, the exposure to all the calls and the danger, we’ve had 24-7 security at [Fire Hall No. 2] for a year now just to look after our crews that are there,” Trudeau explained.

“The first-hand accounts are really hard. First and foremost, it’s just showing that there’s more people who are being harmed right now.”

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He says crews deal with a large amount of human suffering when they attend drug-related calls, with many examples of firefighters returning to the same person who has overdosed multiple times during a single shift.

“Maybe it’s their first time or maybe it’s a repetition of events, and then second, obviously the impact on crews experiencing this over and over,” he said.

“I think … firefighters inherently have a high resiliency to a lot, but every person has their tipping point too, when their glass can be over full with seeing people, objectively, sometimes in the worst state of their life and extreme levels of human suffering. And this is every day that you go to work.”

Trudeau says VFRS is doing what it can to support firefighters. Supports include offering resiliency programs to equip members with tools to navigate difficult situations they will likely face during calls in the city.

In addition to peer support groups and positions, Trudeau says VFRS is also getting more funding to create permanent positions dedicated just to looking after mental health.