This First Person column is written by Dan Scheuerman who worked as a firefighter in Calgary for 13 years. For more information about CBC’s First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
As a Calgary firefighter, I’ve seen the opioid epidemic escalate from a “new thing” into a full-blown national nightmare. In 2014, I transferred to one of the busier districts in the city, near Chinook Mall where overdoses soon became commonplace.
When fentanyl abuse first started appearing on the streets and entered the news cycle, we learned how to administer Narcan, an antidote that is delivered nasally. At the time, I
