From Firehouse.com: Buffalo firefighters believe they have the exclusive right to administer Narcan, a lifesaving antidote to forestall the effects of heroin and prescription painkiller overdoses.
Buffalo police who have begun carrying the antidote argue that they have been given additional duties without a chance to negotiate the extra work their bosses say can save lives.
As a result, the city faces two separate charges filed with the state's Public Employment Relations Board by the unions representing firefighters and police.
The charges stem from a policy decision Mayor Byron W. Brown and Police Commissioner Daniel Derenda implemented last month to train all 750 city police officers on how to administer Narcan to victims of overdoses. The drug is given through a nasal spray to people suspected of overdosing on opiates, buying them enough time to get to an emergency room for lifesaving treatment. About 50 Buffalo police officers have received the training.
Brown and Derenda took the action in response to the increasing epidemic of opiate addiction that is claiming many lives here and across the country.
But firefighters say it's their job to act as first responders when it comes to medical emergencies.
"It is the exclusive work of members of the unit to be first responders to medical emergencies and provide care up to the level of their training. ... This exclusive work includes providing initial medical treatment to members of the public, which would include, if necessary, the administering of drugs such as Narcan," the complaint filed by Local 282 of the Buffalo Professional Firefighters Association stated.
The Buffalo Police Benevolent Association declined to comment on its action against the city, but the firefighters union cited the police complaint in its documents to PERB alleging violations of civil service law:
"Upon information and belief, the Buffalo PBA filed a charge with PERB because the city has not bargained with the PBA regarding the unilateral assignment of police officers to perform non-bargaining unit work. http://www.firehouse.com/news/11359772/buffalo-firefighters-cops-clash-over-narcan
If a druggie that is essentially dead because of a drug overdose, do they really care who brings them back from death?
Then again, they are druggies... are they worth saving?
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