The Perry Volunteer Fire Department is hoping to improve some of its equipment through a federal grant.

They recently submitted an application for an Assistance to Firefighters grant, provided through the United States Department of Homeland Security. Perry is requesting $23,667 in funding, that includes a local match of $1,183. Perry City Administrator Sven Peterson says the money would be used to buy new vehicle extraction equipment, such as Jaws of Life.

Though it’s not guaranteed Perry will be awarded the grant, Peterson says it’s something they felt was worth pursuing. “(It’s) definitely a great opportunity to be able to leverage grant funds to better our departments and the equipment that they work with. It would be a competitive grant, so there’ll be fire departments all over the state putting in for different equipment, different things. We hope that Perry can win this grant”

Peterson adds, if their grant request is successful, the local match will come from the fire department’s normal budget.