First responders in Chatham-Kent will now carry a medication to combat cyanide exposure and poisoning -- a common side-effect of severe smoke inhalation when a person is in a burning building.
The collaboration between Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA), the Municipality of Chatham-Kent and Chatham-Kent EMS will help deploy so-called cyanokits, the organization announced Wednesday.
The kits contain both medication and the supplies to deliver the medication. It is administered intravenously and helps detoxify cyanide.
Pete Morassutti, the operations manager of Medavie EMS for Chatham-Kent says the fast administration is crucial to first responders' safety and in reversing "the severe and often fatal effects of cyanide exposure."
"This ensures immediate access to the antidote, reducing administration times and significantly improving the likelihood of early treatment," he said.
Chatham-Kent Fire and Rescue Services Chief Chris Case says the cyanokits will help shift a concern for first responders, considering cyanide poisoning is a "significant risk that can occur when someone is exposed to toxic gas during a fire."
"The newly acquired cyanokits will allow our paramedics to rapidly intervene and improve survivability," he says.
Regional hospitals are already equipped with the cyanokits, but with this new partnership the medication can be administered in the field, ensuring people have access as quickly as possible and before they get to an emergency department.
In every case, the person will be transported to hospital after receiving the medication, the health alliance said in a media release.
Hydrogen cyanide is a byproduct when some common household materials, like wool and nylon, are not completely consumed in a fire. Windsor-Essex firefighters and paramedics also carry cyanokits.