Photos from the fight against fentanyl

Last year, fentanyl killed someone in Spokane County every other day.

As we explored the regional response to the fentanyl crisis for this week's cover story, we rode along with Spokane Fire Department's Behavioral Response Unit.

The two-person team, a paramedic and a mental health professional, responds (if possible) to every psychiatric call or overdose call while the unit is in service. The unit operates from 10 am to 8 pm, Monday through Thursday.

The unit's main goal is to divert people to care instead of repeatedly taking them to local emergency rooms. Inside the truck, a tally sheet is proudly displayed to keep track of the hundreds of diversions that have been made over the last two years.

While reporting the story, we also spoke with staff at Compassionate Addiction Treatment, including Catherine Herrman, who saved multiple people who were overdosing last month, including two people in the same day on Oct. 2.