Image: Vancouver Fire Rescue Services / Vancouver firefighters are pictured Tuesday, Nov. 25 in the 100 block of W. Hastings Street for a vault fire and subsequent gas leak. The fire was controlled, no injuries were reported.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Record-breaking overdoses

Vancouver firefighters responded to a record-breaking number overdoses in a single day on Tuesday

Nov 26, 2025 | 11:27 AM

VANCOUVER — Vancouver Fire Rescue Services says firefighters responded yesterday to the most overdoses in a single day in its history.

According to a social media post from the department, firefighters were called to 54 overdoses, or more than two an hour, on Tuesday, Nov. 21.

VFRS says it averaged 16 overdoses/day in May. More recently, it jumped significantly to the point there were 45 overdoses a day during income assistance week.

“Nine years after the opioid emergency was declared, so many individuals, families, communities and first responders continue to be impacted daily from direct harms and downstream effects,” VFRS said on X. “This week, firefighters continue to respond to an unprecedented amount of overdoses and emergencies to try and help this crisis as much as possible.”

Firefighters at Fire Hall No. 2, located at 199 Main Street in the heart of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, are limited to 81 shifts to try and limit what it calls “compassion fatigue,” citing exposure to extreme levels of human suffering.

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