The city of Crystal City has received a $50,000 grant from the Jefferson Foundation to purchase vehicle extrication tools.
Crystal City Fire Department Chief Tony Bova said the rescue tools, commonly known as the “Jaws of Life,” are a set of hydraulic rescue tools used to rescue people from vehicles involved in accidents and are especially useful in cases where victims are trapped or pinned inside because the tools can cut, pry and spread car materials to create space for first responders to remove injured people while reducing the risk of further injuring them.
“When a car is turned over and you can’t get the door open, you can use the tools to cut the door,” Bova said. “You can also use them to stabilize a car if it’s turned on its side.”
Bova said the department has a set of the rescue tools, but they are older tools and are gas powered. He said the age of those tools prompted him to apply for the grant to purchase new battery-operated tools, which offer some advantages over gas-powered tools, including faster deployment speed, greater efficiency and lower maintenance costs.
He said the city will buy the Amkus rescue tools from Feld Fire for $50,200.
With the $50,000 grant from the Jefferson Foundation, the city will pay the remaining $200 for the tools.
Without the grant, Bova said, the department would not have been able to afford the new tools.
“We want to give a big thank you to the Jefferson Foundation for giving us the grant. We really appreciate it,” Bova said.
The foundation awarded 111 grants totaling $2,904,180.03 in its second round of grant-giving this year. Overall in 2025, the foundation awarded 223 grants totaling $6,062,485.82.
The Jefferson Foundation will start accepting first-round grant applications for 2026 on Jan. 2, and agencies have until Feb. 5 to apply for those grants.