Overdose calls to Saskatoon Fire Department nearly doubled in 2025

A new report going to a city committee next week shines a glaring light on just how busy, and in-demand firefighters are in Saskatoon.

According to the report – entitled “Saskatoon Fire Department – 2025 Year in Review” – there were “significant” operational demands on the department. Calls for service increased by 13.2 percent with a total of 28,717 calls, up from 25,366 calls in 2024.

The report will go before the City of Saskatoon’s environment, utilities and corporate services committee.

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Those calls for service affected all of the Saskatoon Fire Department (SFD) divisions, driven by what’s being called a “dramatic escalation in overdose responses.”

Overdose responses climbed 96 per cent in 2025, from 1,281 calls in 2024, to 2,512 calls in 2025. According to the report, “Many overdoses occurred in concentrated areas such as the Downtown, Riversdale, and Pleasant Hill, however the report also noted that the SFD responded to overdoses in every Saskatoon neighbourhood.

As a result, the number of fire inspections decreased because resources were instead allocated to higher-risk property maintenance concerns including encampment responses.

To that end, the report noted that the number of encampments in Saskatoon increased by 48 per cent from 1,255 in 2024 to 1,859 encampments in 2025, as bylaw inspectors concentrated on hazard mitigation, life safety and trying to connect people with different types of support.

The number of fires that crews responded to within encampments also increased by 132 per cent, up from 50 in 2024 to 116 in 2025.

A woman lies on the cement sidewalk near Station 20 in Saskatoon after answering questions during the Point in Time homeless count in October 2025. (Lara Fominoff/650 CKOM)

The increase in response demand let to Ward 2 Councillor Senos Timon asking the fire department about the growing number of overdoses and department constraints, and whether the closure of Prairie Harm Reduction played a role.

“I was wondering if administration could speak into (sic) that, what plans (are) in place to help address that,” he asked.

Doug Wegren, Saskatoon Fire Chief, said unlike last year, when the demand for resources to respond to overdoses came as a result of a dangerous drug on the street, this year, it’s different.

“This situation is different as we have lost a resource with regards to Prairie Harm,” Wegren responded. “Our crews are managing with the increased calls for service, and we are also working as administration to work on remedies to maintain crew wellness.”

That’s being done, said Wegren, by rotating crews and switching out paramedics during the day.

“We’re in constant conversations with our officers and our battalion chiefs to monitor this situation, but we understand this is likely a long-standing problem,” he added.

Now that the snow is melting, Wegren said their encampment teams are starting to go back out to manage them, depending on complaints that come in.

“We are going through with the crews as quickly as we can to get things managed,” he said.

The report also showed that the Emergency Management Organization played a large role in helping wildfire evacuees. Out of 15,000 evacuees, more than half – or about 8,000 – were hosted in Saskatoon.

The report will be presented to councilors on Tues, May 5.