On Jan. 19, the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe and Eastside Fire & Rescue received word that their application for grant funding through the Indian Community Development Block Grant – American Rescue Plan Act will be funded.

“This funding will go directly into a new emergency medical transport vehicle for our residents, this is a great example of how our partnership with the Snoqualmie Tribe continues to benefit our community as a whole,” said Chief Clark of Eastside Fire and Rescue.

Since 2020, Eastside Fire and Rescue’s operational workforce has been dedicated to responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The department says pandemic has greatly impacted and changed how their emergency responders operate when at an incident to how to interact with the community.

The replacement of this emergency aid vehicle will help to ensure the responders and patients are greater protected from not only the COVID-19 virus but also other existing and future viruses through the apparatus upgrades, such as built-in patricians separating the patients from the vehicle operators and built in UV sanitation equipment which is state of the art sterilization technology that is crucial for reducing the spread of such viruses.

“After hearing from Tribes across Washington state about the challenges they were dealing with due to COVID, I worked to include critical funding in the American Rescue Plan to go directly to Tribal communities for everything from pandemic response to affordable housing support” said Senator Patty Murray. “As we all continue working to get through this pandemic, I’m glad to see some of that funding going to the Snoqualmie Tribe to bolster their emergency medical services” Murray said.

The Tribe and EF&R have had a strong working partnership for many years. EF&R has staffed the existing aid car on the Tribe’s reservation beginning in 2019 and has been able to reduce response times by an average of 75 seconds or more.

“With the upgrades this new vehicle will have, we are excited to save even more in the years to come and want to thank all that were involved in helping to secure this funding” Said Chairman Robert De Los Angeles, of the Snoqualmie Tribe.