For those people who think it can’t happen here — think again.
That is what Barrhead fire chief John Whittaker told a group of Grade 9 students participating in the Barrhead Cares Coalition’s PARTY program after participating in a mock scenario with other emergency personnel that saw them respond to a possible drug overdose.
As part of the scenario, three Barrhead Composite High School (BCHS) students are spotted skipping class by one of the school’s teachers, Peter Bonnema.
As he starts to tell them that they need to go to class, two of the teens pass out.
Bonnema then asks someone from a passing group of pedestrians, a group of PARTY students, to call 911.
The first of the emergency services to arrive is the Barrhead Fire Department, followed shortly after by EMS and the RCMP.
Firefighters and EMS immediately begin to triage the teens.
Whatever happened to the teens — it is serious. Their symptoms indicate a possible drug overdose, but they are not sure.
With the help of the RCMP who interview the pair’s friend, it is determined that the teens have overdosed on an opioid, most likely fentanyl. As a result EMS immediately starts to administer Naloxone, a medication known to help reverse an opiod overdose.
Unfortunately, one of the teens doesn’t respond to the medication and goes into cardiac arrest. EMS and RCMP begin CPR, but to no avail, and she is declared deceased. The other teen seems to respond to treatment and is taken to the hospital in serious condition.
“The reason why we are doing this exercise is because this is becoming more and more of a common occurrence,” Whittaker said, adding often the firefighters respond to three or four of these calls a week.
Although the organizers did the best to give the students a realistic picture of what it is like to respond to a drug overdose, Whittaker said what the students witnessed generally doesn’t happen.
“What you are seeing is the best case scenario. Today we are lucky to have to EMS crews, two RCMP along with the fire department,” he said, adding most of the time only one ambulance crew is available.
Whittaker added when drugs, like fentanyl or carfentanil, are circulated at rural parties it can take 20 minutes or longer before the fire department or ambulance crews arrive.
“And when it only takes three minutes for a drug like fentanyl to cause cardiac arrest, it makes it that much harder to bring you back,” he said.
Barrhead RCMP Const. Robert Hynes agreed, adding these drugs are still fairly new and not everything is known about them yet, the one thing they know is that they are dangerous.
“You don’t even have to take the drug, all you have to do is get it on your skin,” he said, adding that is why all front line RCMP members carry a Naloxone nasal spray. “We can administer it to ourselves or our partner and the reason why we are required to carry it is because it is a real epidemic out there,” he said.
Firefighter Shawn Rachkewich noted another problem for drug users is that they never really know what they are taking.
In an effort to maximize their profits, dealers are cutting the drugs with other substances.
“You never know what you are getting. You might think you are getting ecstasy, cocaine, or marijuana you just don’t know,” he said.
Whittaker concluded by saying the biggest difference between the scenario is that they couldn’t duplicate how messy a drug overdose is.
“This is all nice and clean. When we start jumping up and down on you, fluids start to come out of you. The human body is gross, you vomit, wet your pants, … yourself. Is that how you want to be remembered when they put you on that slab or take you away in an ambulance,” he said.
