Tulsa Fire Department Overdose Response Team: Giving Tulsans a Second Chance by Providing Lifesaving Supplies and Support
- aguyton47
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
The Tulsa Fire Department launched its newest mobile health unit in April 2025 which focuses on overdose response and outreach.
Currently, first responders answer about 8-10 overdose calls per day. The Overdose Response Team (ORT) is designed to answer real-time overdose calls to assist first responders and send them back into service, while also providing support to patients and their families by connecting them to resources or providing free naloxone kits and test strips.
The team consists of a community paramedic and a Peer Support Specialist, or a person with lived experience in substance abuse who has recovered. The goal is to establish rapport with individuals and empower them to seek help.
“What this gives us is the ability for someone to really connect on a personal level and say, Hey, I’ve been in a similar situation before, but I’ve recovered,” said Emergency Medical Services Director, Chief Justin Lemery.
Deidra Watkins, one of ORT’s Peer Recovery Support Specialists, has recovered from drug and alcohol abuse, and worked in a treatment center before joining ORT.
“It’s probably my favorite day out of the week because it’s a chance for me to give back to the community that I came from,” said Watkins.
TFD modeled the Overdose Response Team after seeing successes of similar programs in cities like San Antonio and Oklahoma City, where individuals received help earlier than they had previously.
In addition to the mobile response, some fire stations have added harm reduction boxes to provide individuals with free and easy access to naloxone, test strips, leave-behind kits, and education pamphlets.
The harm reduction boxes are located at:
Station 5: 102 E. 18th St.
Station 10: 508 E. Pine St.
Station 17: 1351 N. Sheridan Rd.
Station 22: 7303 E. 15th St.
“I would say we’re continuing to address this issue within our community and really make sure we’re providing resources, whether that’s response [or] somewhere to go,” said Chief Lemery. “We want to make sure that we have the best system in America here in Tulsa.”
The Overdose Response Team also checks in with members of the community and provides needed supplies or support..
“They know that if they wave us down, we’ll stop,” said Watkins. “We’ll give them whatever it is that they need, even if it’s just somebody to listen to them.”
The hope is that by responding to overdose calls, providing life-saving supplies, and being active in the community, the rate of overdoses will significantly drop.
This program is fully funded through grants and supports the Mayor/Council Priority of Public Safety and utilizing more alternative response methods.
Councilors recently presented a proclamation recognizing September 21 as Opioid Awareness Day. From 2018 to 2022, 913 Tulsans lost their lives to unintentional drug overdoses. Since ORT’s inception in April 2025, the team has engaged nearly 500 individuals through field response and outreach, distributed hundreds of naloxone kits, trained community members to recognize and reverse overdoses, and connected residents to medications for opioid use disorder, treatment, and recovery supports.
Other opioid funds are also being used to mitigate and abate the opioid crisis among Tulsa’s homeless population. Under the launch of the City's Safe Move Tulsa Initiative, opioid settlement dollars are providing Tulsa’s homeless population with support services to treat, aid in recovery, or support those most at-risk for developing an opioid use disorder or co-occurring substance and mental health disorder through permanent rehousing support. For more information about the initiative, visit: www.cityoftulsa.org/SafeMove
