Sacramento City Fire awarded federal grant to upgrade lifesaving tools
(FOX40.com)—The Sacramento City Fire Department recently received a $165,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety to purchase new extrication equipment, better known as Jaws of Life.
The department told FOX40 News the grant has helped replace the extrication tools in three of its nine fire trucks that had the older equipment. Each set costs about $53,000.
These new life-saving tools are battery-operated, have a nine-hour battery life, and are stronger and more capable than gas-powered extrication tools.
With the gas-powered extrication tools, Sacramento City Fire said each tool would often take minutes on end to set up, as firefighters had to use a generator to connect the hydraulic lines to the extrication tool before using it.
Now, with the battery-powered tool, it's changing the way firefighters respond.
'We had a large power unit that was very heavy, and each firefighter could only carry one tool. With this one, one firefighter can carry two tools,' Paramedic Firefighter Jason Johnson said. 'Another firefighter can carry the RAM as well as the O'ConO'Connelle, and the drop cloth and some saws, all as well.'
With the new battery power extrication tools, no generator or extensive setup is required. Firefighters only need to connect an attachment to it, and with a click of a button, it's ready to go within seconds.
Captain Justin Sylvia, the public information officer with Sacramento City Fire, said this changes how fast firefighters respond to specific calls, including when a person is pinned inside their car in need of help.
'We call it the golden hour, and we need to get that person to an operating room within one hour. That's going to be their best chance of survival,' Captain Sylvia said. 'So we can cut them out of a vehicle or extricate them out a lot quicker than before, that going to save time, that's going to save lives.'
Captain Sylvia said data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System shows in 2022, more than 55-thousand crashes across the country involved car extrication. He added that 42 percent of people killed in car crashes were alive when first responders arrived–a statistic that underscores how crucial every minute is at a scene.
While the tools are primarily used for auto extrication situations, they have a wide range of other uses, including using them to save animals pinned in between a fence.
Three Sacramento City Fire trucks and a rescue unit have the new extrication equipment. The department is aiming to have all nine trucks with the latest state-of-the-art tool in the near future.
As far as the older gas-powered extrication tools, they will hold onto them and use them as a backup in case the battery-powered extrication tool stops working.
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