A group of firefighters is getting some extra help as they train for how to respond to bad car wrecks.
“We have to be on our game,” said Jeff Pugh, president of the Puyallup Extrication Team, a non-profit that trains rescuers.
For three days this week, the back lot of a Renton fire station looks like an action movie set. It's where firefighters from across the region practice how to get people out of their crashed cars, fast.
“We teach regionally, nationally, and internationally. This year alone we're teaching in Argentina, the Philippines, Mexico, and of course the U.S.,” Pugh said.
The Jaws of Life is one of their most important tools. Nothing else can crunch through metal quite like it. Last year, the team lost its long-time tool sponsor and access to the essential gear.
Pugh and his teammates tried to raise money to buy their own Jaws of Life, but the equipment was still out of reach.
“It's a lot of work, and without these tools, how are they supposed to train fellow firefighters?” said Michael Westfall, with the charity group Chive on Seattle.
His organization took notice and secured a $25,000 grant to help buy the equipment.
“I just think about all the lives that they could possibly save with these tools and with this training and this really hits home with me,” he said.
Westfall says the 2015 Seattle Ride the Ducks boat crash and the recent Amtrak train derailment were reminders of the importance of the work first responders do and how crucial it is that they get the best training.
