VIDEO: 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, itโs changing the way firefighters respond. โWe 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,โ Paramedic Firefighter Jason Johnson said.
