FRENCH CAMP — The French Camp McKinley Fire District was awarded a $250,000 traffic safety grant for the purchase of extrication equipment for distribution to 15 fire districts within San Joaquin County.

Funding from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will provide extrication equipment that can aid in more efficient extrication times and to help victims from a severely damaged vehicle.

 “This grant has assisted 15 different Fire Departments within San Joaquin County to obtain much needed safety equipment to extricate and stabilize critically injured crash victims trapped in a vehicle on our roadways,” said Chief Paul Tualla.  “The new equipment will help streamline the extrication process, allowing for quicker extrications and decreased transport times to local trauma centers.”

 The grant will assist in efforts to reduce the number of persons killed in traffic collisions.  While traffic deaths from all causes declined by nearly 39 percent between 2006 and 2010 in California, they rose by 5.5 percent by 2012.  Safer roads and cars, stepped up enforcement and awareness, along with faster and ‘high-tech’ extrication equipment for emergency responders will go a long way in sending that trend down again.

The new equipment will arrive in early February with disbursement to local departments immediately thereafter. There will be several demonstrations of the new extrication tools at various Fire Departments throughout the County in early 2014. The public will be invited to see this new equipment at work.  Local firefighter officials will demonstrate how this equipment will be used to help save lives.