The Yakima County American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) has almost 50 million dollars of federal aid to give to organizations in need. The Selah Fire Department requested funding for four new sets of extrication or jaws of life tools.
"I would love to tell our taxpayers and visitors to our area that we could get them out and into a hospital a lot faster," said fire chief, Jim Lange.
The number of car crashes increased by 32 percent in the last two years. More than 22 percent of them required the jaws of life, said Lange.
"Our tools are outdated," said Lange, "They're getting worn out and they need to be replaced." He said the tools are more than 15 years old and don't meet safety standard of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).