The Columbia-Richland Fire Department’s efforts to help in the nation’s ongoing opioid crisis was highlighted at the annual SC Governor’s Opioid and Addiction Summit.
CRFD was one of several fire departments from across the state to receive honors from Governor Henry McMaster and the South Carolina Center of Excellence in Addiction. In the last three years CRFD firefighters have helped reverse the effects of drug overdose in 334 incidents by administering the drug naloxone to patients on the scenes of medical emergencies.
“Our firefighters are trained to help people when they are facing the most dire circumstances and that includes cases where people are facing the deadly risks of a drug overdose,” said Columbia-Richland Fire Chief Aubrey D. Jenkins, “I commend our department for taking steps to train our firefighters in how to use naloxone so we have just one more tool at our disposable as we try and save lives in our community each day.”
CRFD & other South Carolina fire departments being recognized during the 2024 SC Governor’s Opioid and Addiction Summit on April 30th.
Naloxone is a medicine that can be given either as a spray or as a muscle injection to rapidly reverse an opioid overdose. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) the drug acts as an ‘antagonist.’ This means that it can attach to opioid receptors and reverse or block the effects of other opioids.
In 2019 the Reducing Opioid Loss of Life (ROLL) program was launched to provide training to South Carolina firefighters in identifying and treating cases of drug overdose. Since that time, the number of administrations of naloxone by CRFD has placed it as the top department for overdose reversals in the region.
The Myrtle Beach Fire Department, the Lexington County Fire Service, the Rock Hill Fire Department and the Greenwood Fire Department were just a few of the other agencies also recognized for their work with naloxone during the summit.
