By EMS1 Staff
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — A firefighter-paramedic received emergency treatment after being exposed to fentanyl during a medical call.
CBC.ca reported that the Winnipeg firefighter-paramedic was with a crew responding to a possible fentanyl overdose when he started experiencing respiratory distress
“By the time he got back to the fire hall, the paramedics at the fire hall administered Narcan to the firefighter,” Alex Forrest, president of the United Firefighters of Winnipeg, said.
Forrest said the firefighter-paramedic was shaken up, but made a full recovery and is back at work.
“What was a real watershed was when we went into that call where we had the child, the 9-month-old child, and the child was merely in the same house where there was fentanyl and carfentanil, and that child went into respiratory distress and was actually critical when transported,” Forrest said. “That just goes to show just how strong this is.”
Forrest said the majority of opioid overdose victims are between the ages of 15 and 25.
Manitoba Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen is meeting with other health ministers across the country this weekend to discuss a national approach to opioid overdoses.