Emergency calls spike as air quality diminishes in Burlington, Oakville, Milton, Halton Hills

May 01, 2023

By Steve Pecar

Published June 8, 2023 at 11:23 am

Calls for assistance are stretching the services of emergency crews as the poor air quality continues to affect residents of Halton Region.

According to sources, paramedics have been responding to numerous calls to assist people who are having difficulty breathing.

"I haven't really seen anything like this before," a healthcare worker told inhalton.com. "A lot of people out there are having difficulty and paramedics and other first responders are being kept busy."

Officials say the wildfires in Quebec and Northern Ontario are to blame for the adverse conditions.

"Another challenging day for our team due to wildfire smoke, a quick look at active calls says it all," wrote Halton Paramedic Chief Greg Sage on social media channels yesterday (June 7). "Thank you to all of the paramedics working during these unprecedented few days."

Reports say calls have been consistently coming in during the past 24 hours which has prompted reminders to those with underlying health conditions to take precautions.

"Wildfire smoke can be harmful to everyone's health even at low concentrations," states a Government of Canada warning and reiterated by Halton's health department. "Continue to take actions to protect your health and reduce exposure to smoke. People with lung disease (such as asthma) or heart disease, older adults, children, pregnant people, and people who work outdoors are at higher risk of experiencing health effects caused by wildfire smoke."

The government recommends the following:

The healthcare worker said the current situation in Halton should be taken seriously as the effects of the pollution can "sneak up on you" without you realizing that it is causing problems.

"Especially on days that are overcast like today," the official said. "You can't see the bad air but you are breathing it in. Be very careful."