Toxic drugs ‘an epidemic,’ Saskatoon fire battalion chief says on ride-along

A Saskatoon Fire Department battalion chief fears tackling more toxic drugs entering what was the peak time from last year, when a deadly drug supply pushed overdoses above 30. 

As we piled into Saskatoon Fire Department Battalion Chief Dwayne Jobson’s truck, we set out to learn more about how the growing toxic drug crisis is causing devastation in Saskatoon.

Jobson took Global News on a ride-along to get a look at the crisis first-hand. A call came through for a response to an overdose within a few minutes of driving through the city.

Paramedics and firefighters were at the scene as we hopped out of the car.

“A lot of it comes down to what drug is on board. Sometimes it can come out of it fairly quickly, within seconds, and other times it takes a long time,” Jobson said.

While there are no official stats for 2026, he says the department is averaging around five to six drug-related calls per day.

“The ones that are reported, there’ll be lots that go unreported because they have their own kits with them sometimes, so the group they’re with will administer the Narcan or naloxone and then it doesn’t get reported,” Jobson said.

In 2025, the department responded to an average of 6.8 overdoses daily. That number peaked at this time last year when a deadly drug supply pushed it above 30.

“During that time frame, there were a lot of drug alerts that came out that gave us some detail on what was in the pills that were being taken,” Jobson said.