Verde Valley Fire District was recently awarded a grant from the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) in the amount of $7,295 for a new air bag lift system. An air bag lift system is used in conjunction with cribbing, rescue jacks and other extrication equipment to extricate patients pinned under vehicles or other heavy objects. In 2017 Verde Valley Fire District responded to 122 vehicle crashes. It is vital that our firefighters (who are also EMT’s and paramedics) gain patient access, administer advanced life saving measures and transport patients as soon as possible. Air bag lift systems play a vital role in that process.