Mississauga fire trucks now equipped with EpiPens

MISSISSAUGA - All fire trucks in Mississauga now carry life-saving EpiPens to treat people experiencing a severe allergic reaction.

Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services officials brought the news to City councillors last Wednesday. EpiPens are used to administer epinephrine to someone suffering an extreme allergic reaction. In some cases, the reaction can be fatal and the injection can give someone enough time to make it to hospital for emergency treatment.

"Those suffering from an anaphylactic medical emergency used to have to wait for the ambulance to arrive," said Debbie Bruce, co-director of the Canadian Anaphylaxis Initiative and a Mississauga resident. "When a person is suffering, seconds count, so we are thrilled to be working with Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services and Peel Region to bring awareness to anaphylaxis with the introduction of this initiative." Mississauga Fire Chief John McDougall said training for his crews, which began in February, is now complete. "Our firefighters are generally first on scene when there's been a 9-1-1 call, so having EpiPens available on the fire trucks makes good sense," he said. Bruce has been working with communities and educating on risk reduction measures for those with extreme allergies since her son was diagnosed in 1985. Bruce said about 50,000 people in Mississauga have severe allergies that can be life-threatening and about 2.5 million Canadians across the country live with the condition. As a parent of a child with severe allergies, Bruce said it can be hard knowing your child could suffer a life-threatening reaction at any time. Bruce said 86 per cent of the reactions happen away from the home and Peel paramedics respond to an anaphylactic reaction every day. "We live every day knowing that the person we love most is always only one mistake away from a life-threatening medical emergency," said Bruce. "We can't always be there with them. Our biggest worry is that the people caring for them will not respond quickly, or at all." That's why having EpiPens on fire trucks comes as a huge relief, added Bruce. "In the case of an anaphylactic medical emergency, seconds count and it's important epinephrine be administered immediately," said Bruce. "Epinephrine relaxes the muscles in the airways so the person can breathe easier and helps to reverse the rapid and dangerous decrease in blood pressure. It's very reassuring to know that our firefighters can now respond as soon as they arrive on the scene."