'Huge weight off our shoulders': Portland Fire launches overdose response team to tackle drug crisis

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – In the midst of Portland’s drug crisis, a pilot program is set to launch this month involving a team that answers overdose calls.

Starting Jan. 16, Portland Fire and Rescue’s new overdose response team will operate out of Station One in Old Town – right at the heart of the city's meth and fentanyl epidemic.

"This is where a lot of our overdoses are happening. One third of the overdose calls in the city are happening right at this fire house,” PF&R’s Deputy Chief of Community Health Stephenie Sullivan said.

And while this program may sound very similar to the previously-launched Portland Street Response, this new two-person chat team has several differences.

PSR helps free up police, but this team is designed to free up fire and emergency resources by connecting those teams to those in need. It will dispatch through 911 and be dedicated exclusively to drug overdoses.

The two person Community Health Assess and Treat (CHAT) team will respond to overdoses instead of the standard four-person fire truck, ultimately freeing up firefighters like Grant Kelly to take on other calls

"When a rig is going out the door, close to 50% are fentanyl related or have some fentanyl component,” Kelly said. “They come in as an overdose, as an altered patient, or a patient that is falling because they overdosed. It will be a huge weight off our shoulders."

Funded through Oregon Care, the team can administer Narcan and connect patients to detox, insurance, peer support, aftercare and more.

"They are EMTs, they are paramedics, they have education on overdoses, but I think the biggest difference is the trauma-informed care,” Sullivan said. “Firefighters aren't the right resource to be connecting with these other services. We haven't been trained in that."

Last year, PF&R says they responded to nearly 7,000 overdose calls, of which one-third came from the Old Town station. Patients in 80% of those calls refused to be transported to a hospital for further treatment.

Commissioner Rene Gonzalez shared the following statement regarding the CHAT team:

“In 2023, I visited all 31 fire stations. I heard consistently from frontline first responders that the volume of overdose responses is killing the system, with the same patients overdosing repeatedly, typically refusing emergency room transport afterwards and often already being administered Narcan prior to arrival of Portland Fire. At the same time, the county is experiencing substantial shortage of ambulances. Concerned about the impact on our firefighters and on our system, I asked Portland Fire to evaluate an alternative overdose response and I am excited to see this pilot.”