First Responders Receive Electric Vehicle Safety Training

Imagine taking a brand new extended range electric vehicle and ripping it apart. Firefighters took the “Jaws of Life” to a 2011 Chevy Volt during a live extraction in the name of safety during the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Fire-Rescue International (FRI) Conference.  The event was held last week in downtown Chicago for emergency first responders.

While electric vehicles and hybrids offer many benefits, they may pose additional risks to first responders and passengers in the case of an accident.

Besides attending to and rescuing the injured, first responders must now be aware of the potential hazards the new alternative-fuel technology may pose. In order to keep both passengers and rescue crews safe, first responders must be aware of the potential for electrical shock, dangers of unintended vehicle movement, the challenges of charging stations and fires.

First responders must know how to disengage electrical power systems. And because many EVs are built using high-strength boron steel, traditional saws used in effective rescues in traditional vehicles won’t work.

First responders must know exactly where and where not to cut an alternative-fuel vehicle. And interior trim must be removed in order to locate stored gas inflators for airbags.

According to NBC Chicago, while systems are designed to shut down in case of a vehicle accident, Chevy’s Safety Director Gay Kent said there is “no substitute for education and training.”

The conference, held at Chicago’s McCormick Place, took place from August 24th through August 28, 2010. Other workshops included successes from the Fort Hood shooting tragedy and Haiti emergency response efforts.

In order to prepare for the Obama Administration’s goal of having more than one million advanced electric vehicles on the road in the United States by 2015, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) received a $4.4 million grant to develop a comprehensive awareness and emergency response safety training program for the estimated 1.2 million first responders to prepare them for the implementation of EVs. The U.S. Emergency Responder Safety Training Program for Advanced Electric Drive Vehicles includes classroom training courses, webinars, simulations and other training tools.

Image courtesy of Janismama