Imperial, California - Imperial County Fire Department (ICFD) has been awarded a $35,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for a program with a special emphasis on enhancing emergency medical service efforts to prevent traffic related deaths and injuries.  ICFD will use the funding as part of the County’s ongoing commitment to improving the response and treatment of patients when responding to incidents on our roadways, and improving the quality of life through both enforcement and education.

“The personnel of the ICFD are happy to be a recipient of the awarded grant funds,” said Tony Rouhotas Jr, Fire Chief. “These funds will allow the ICFD to purchase two new sets of hydraulic rescue tools to assist in vehicle extrication operations. These new tools can provide an exceptional enhancement to our inventory and prove to be life saving items. I would like to thank the Office of Traffic Safety in making this purchase possible through their dedication in providing much needed funding.”

After falling to a ten year low in 2010, the number of persons killed has climbed nearly 17% across the state with 3,176 killed in 2015 according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  Particularly alarming is the six year rise in pedestrian and bicycle fatalities, along with the growing dangers of distracting technologies, and the emergence of drug-impaired driving as a major problem. This grant funding will provide opportunities to combat these and other devastating problems such as drunk driving, speeding and crashes at intersections.

“Years of research tell us that enforcement, education, and emergency medical services work best jointly to combat unsafe driving,” said OTS Director Rhonda Craft.  “This grant brings all together, with the Office of Traffic Safety and the Imperial County Fire Department working in concert to help keep the streets and highways safe across Imperial County and the state."

Funding for this program is from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.