The New Brunswick population on the rise has had a trickle-down effect on some Marine fire departments.
In Moncton, call volume skyrocketed from before the pandemic, with 7,030 calls made moncton fire department In 2022, an increase of about one thousand calls from 2019.
The Moncton area was the fastest-growing metropolitan area in Canada last year, adding nearly 9,000 people between July 2021 and 2022.
“If you had asked me on January 1st, I certainly wouldn’t have guessed that,” said Conrad Landry, the city’s fire chief.
“As the months went by, we saw a significant increase in our medical calls.”
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Medical calls have notably increased throughout New Brunswick as paramedic and ambulance shortages continue to puzzle the health care system.
Landry said one of the most important speculations is the number of overdose-related medical calls across the region,
“If I start looking at the medical calls, there seems to be a lot more calls,” Landry said in an interview with Global News.
“The amount of Narcan we bought this year was unreal. I know we got a lot because I look at those bills, and I’ve seen the invoices.
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The Ambulance New Brunswick staff could not provide a clear number on how many calls were made to the ambulance service through the calendar year, but noted that the number in the 2021-22 fiscal year was about 10 percent higher than the previous year, In which 125,160 calls were made. Between April 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022
For overdose call:
“This determination can only be made by hospital staff upon arrival at the emergency department,” said spokesman Eric Robichaud.
“Paramedics are able to treat symptoms on the scene and on the way to the hospital, but only a blood and toxicology test can determine whether an overdose has truly occurred.”
The numbers come as New Brunswick cities deal with the growing pains of population growth. In Riverview, NB, fire crews are fighting the most significant call volume since the ambulance service was shut down in 2007, with more than 1,400 calls in 2022.
“Whenever you have an increase in population, you can expect an increase in call volume from year to year,” said John Malloy, deputy chief of fire prevention for the Town of Riverview.
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