A new project is allowing the Saskatoon Fire Department to use less resources picking up needles.
The project, started last month, sees one person or the nearest fire crew sent out on calls to retrieve needles.
“We’ll just send one firefighter, a single person in a vehicle, rather than send four firefighters,” said assistant fire chief Morgan Hackl. “In previous years we always had the engine company, the firefighter crew, in the district go out and pick up the sharps.”
The number of needles the department picks up off the street each year is declining, said Hackl.
“If we look at stats from 2008, we had over 21,000 needle sharps retrievals. Last year, in 2013, we had just over 5,000,” he said. “We’ve seen a huge decrease.”
Crews have picked up 550, including 111 since the middle of March, so far this year.
Hackl said better public education about proper needle disposal and approved drop-off containers across the city contribute to the lower numbers. Containers are located at every fire station across the city.
“People are dropping off needles and doing a better job taking care of their sharps after use,” he said.
The fire department will evaluate the pilot project in a few months before deciding if it wants to permanently adopt the practice of sending just one firefighter to a sharps call.
