Department seeks funding

The Green River Fire Department is seeking grant funds to provide firefighters with a drug overdose-treating nasal spray and potentially a new pumper truck.

The Green River City Council approved requests for the fire department to apply for a prescription drug overdose grant and an Assistance to Firefighters Grant for a new pumper truck Tuesday night. According to Fire Chief Mike Nomis, the pumper truck is needed because their oldest truck, a 1991 model, needs to be replaced.

“It’s nearing the end of its time now,” Nomis said.

The truck has had its engine replaced and has had work performed on its internal plumbing. Nomis said a newer truck would be more reliable for emergency calls both within Green River and along Interstate 80. The grant would cover 95 percent of the cost, with the city needing to provide approximately $36,000 to match. Nomis said the grant is competitive, as it’s the largest grant available to fire agencies.

The grant for the drug overdose nasal spray known as Narcan will help firefighters respond to emergencies where opiod drugs such as heroin or oxycodone are involved. Nomis said the firefighters respond to emergencies where drug use and overdose are involved and the spray would help them respond to such incidents.

“There’s a chance we might need it to save people,” Nomis said.

The grant drew questions from Councilman Robert Berg, who worried about the spray being a tool to help enable drug users. Berg said while he was growing up, a heroin overdose meant death and voiced concerns that the spray would provide a false sense of security for addicts.

Police Chief Tom Jarvie said the Green River Police Department will soon carry the spray. He told Berg the spray is as much for his officers’ protection as it is a life-saving measure.

Jarvie said a highly-potent opiod called fentanyl is becoming popular amongst drug users and can become airborne, which can incapacitate officers responding to an emergency involving drug use. Jarvie said the community has lost two youths to heroin overdoses, saying they died while officers were at the scene. He also said using Narcan on someone who does overdose will not mean the police department won’t ignore potential criminal charges involved in the incident.

Berg said one of the biggest problems he sees with drug abuse is people will enable addicts to continue using, saying residents should step up and say something to someone addicted to drugs and not rely on the police or firefighters for help.

 

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