Charlottesville, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – As National Fentanyl Awareness Day approaches on April 29, Albemarle County Fire Rescue is ramping up education and outreach efforts to combat the ongoing crisis of opioid overdoses. Deputy Chief Emily Pelliccia, who specializes in risk and resiliency, joined Morning News to discuss the department’s initiatives and the importance of breaking the stigma around substance use. “We’re just going to get out there and were going to try to educate people and hand out Narcan and talk to folks and answer any questions people have,” she said. “Hopefully you know, take away this stigma of talking about drugs and drug addiction.”  

Pelliccia shared that Albemarle County responded to approximately 150 overdose-related calls in 2024, a slight decrease from the previous year. Notably, Narcan was administered only 56 times, compared to over double that amount in 2023. She attributed the drop to increased public training and availability of Narcan. “Hopefully it’s because there’s been so much public administration of Narcan… it’s made the difference, it saved a life,” she said.  

To mark Fentanyl Awareness Day, the department will host a tabling event at the Crozet Volunteer Fire Department on April 29 from 4 to 6 p.m., offering Narcan distribution and training. Pelliccia emphasized the importance of community engagement, especially for parents and youth, saying, “We’ve got folks that have been going out to schools… sharing the data and some stories… really trying to get in there to, you know, we break down these conversations and make it accessible make the information accessible.”  

Listen to the full conversation here: