Saskatoon firefighters faced ‘substantial strain’ from overdoses last year

The surge in homelessness and addiction issues placed a growing strain on the Saskatoon Fire Department last year, with a spike in calls and responses to overdoses and encampments.

A city hall summary of the fire department’s year in review says the situation placed “substantial strain on frontline services,” and that large events, like the evacuation of thousands from northern communities due to wildfires, added to the challenges.

Jayden Poirier, an executive member of the firefighters’ union, said the extra burden on his membership is changing the nature of the job for himself and his 360 or so colleagues in the department.

“When we’re busy doing these overdoses on repeat over and over again, going to the encampments over and over again, it takes away from what we would normally consider our core services,” Poirier said.

“But, that being said, maybe it’s time to look at the way we are responding — what if this is the new normal? — and changing those core values and core services.”

The year in review shows overall calls to the fire department rose by 13.2 per cent last year to 28,717 compared to the year before, or the equivalent of nearly 79 more calls per day. 

That increase was driven by a “dramatic” rise in calls to attend overdoses, which nearly doubled last year to 2,512 compared to the year before, or nearly seven more per day on average.

In March of last year alone, the fire department responded to 509 overdoses.

That high mark was eclipsed last month when they were called to 680 overdoses. In that same month, Prairie Harm Reduction and its supervised drug consumption site closed.

The fire department responded to overdoses in all of the city’s 65 neighbourhoods, although many were concentrated in Riversdale, Pleasant Hill and downtown.

Encampment fires soar

The number of calls related to fires at encampments more than doubled last year to 116 from 50 in 2024. In total, the department conducted 202 fire investigations. In 2021, firefighters responded to just six encampment fires.

The number of general encampment responses also rose to 1,859 from 1,255 in 2024.

“So 2025, it was a year of challenges and growth,” Poirier said. “You know, the demand on the fire department’s growing all the time — not just for fires, but, like I said, these complex social issues and emergency medical calls.”

The encampment response resulted in a decrease in fire inspections, the summary says. The department conducted 1,831 inspections last year — a dramatic drop from 2,709 in 2021. 

In addition to all of the other demands for service, the fire department mobilized along with police to respond to possible incidents arising from “large public gatherings” for World Series games 6 and 7, and Halloween.

Meanwhile, the Paramedic Services Chiefs of Saskatchewan met this week in Saskatoon to discuss some similar challenges facing its members.

Steve Skoworodko, past president of the organization and a paramedic in Wakaw, said calls for paramedics have doubled in the last 10 years and there are 200 unfilled vacancies for paramedic jobs in the province.

He told CBC’s Saskatoon Morning on Tuesday that overdoses have created a “sustained pressure” on paramedics, particularly in a city like Saskatoon.

Paramedics suffer from burnout and leave for more lucrative jobs, like becoming firefighters, he said.

“On the burnout side, I think mental health has always been a piece that’s there.”