Brandon prepares for deadly drug after police seize suspected fentanyl

Emergency responders in Brandon are readying for the fentanyl crisis to spread to the western Manitoba city after police seized a substance suspected to be the highly addictive and deadly drug.

Brandon police Staff Sgt. Bill Brown said officers have made at least oneseizure of a drug suspected to be fentanyl. The police force is waiting for lab tests to confirm presence of the potent drug.

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Earlier this week, three people died in a Winnipeg home from possiblefentanyloverdoses. They are just the latest deaths from the drug, which is about 100 times more potent than morphine.

The number of deaths across Manitoba linked to the drug has nearly doubled in the last two years, rising to 20 deaths in 2015 from 11in 2013, new figures from the province's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner show.

"With the existence of it in larger centres near us, quite often that will have a trickle down effect," Brown said. "Is it directly a problem in the city of Brandon? At this time I would think not."

The Brandon Fire and Emergency Service is preparing for that anticipated wave.

"We expect that it will likely happen," said fire chief Brent Dane. "That's why we have our of our staff trained to handle it."

Dane said no ambulance calls recently come to mind as being for a suspected fentanyl overdose. However, all 60 firefighter/paramedics employed with the city have been trained on the signs and symptoms of fentanyl and how to dispense the antidote Naloxone, also known by the trade name Narcan.

"Right now we're not seeing that [fentanyl] and I certainly hope it stays away from Brandon for sure," said Dane.

Brandon police also have the fentanyl antidoteavailableif needed, Brown said.

"Unfortunately, when there is money to be made, people will try and get that type of thing onto the street," said Brown.