Good News: First Responders Are Now Receiving Training to Deal With Exploding Chevy Volts

Doug Ross Journal ^ | May 07, 2012 | Doug Ross

[radioone]

I wonder how much CO2 is emitted into the atmosphere when a Chevy Volt explodes?

The list of required knowledge for first responders gets longer all the time. Now firefighters are being alerted to potential danger during rescue procedures involving hybrid or electric vehicles...

At a conference of in Las Vegas this weekend, the National Fire Protection Association provided a day of training for trainers — firefighters who will return home to share with their ranks practical knowledge about the cars.

Safely disabling the the batteries tops the list. High-voltage batteries that operate the vehicle systems carry enough juice to kill or severely injure a rescuer who incorrectly cuts a cable. Students also spent time sorting out the varying features on hybrid and electric models, including airbag trigger mechanisms.

[radioone]

ROFLMAO

[Sacajaweau]

ditto....wait till they find out that no garage wants them...

[AngelesCrestHighway]

[MrNeutron1962]

Not to defend the Volt in any way, but, can you imagine if Gasoline Fueled Cars were a new invention?

Tanks full of highly volatile and possibly explosive liquid rolling down our streets, it's an outrage I tell you.

I'll stick to my coal fueled steam car!

[wyowolf]

LOL... now THAT was funny :)

[SECURE AMERICA]

If these vehicles are more dangerous to first responders to accidents are they then not more dangerous to the occupants also?
How did they get by the safety nazi?

[blueunicorn6]

A really nice self-propelled wiener cooker. Pretty pricey, though.

[Calvin Locke]

the safety nazi?

Speaking of whatshisname, Ralph Nader, where's his misbegotten 2¢ on the issue?

Last time I saw him was on Colbert while I was channel surfing.

[drjimmy]

I know it makes for a catchy headline, but first responders being trained to deal with hybrid cars is nothing new. As a volunteer firefighter I've been to two trainings on this in the past six years, not counting my Accident Vehicle Extrication Training (AVET) class.

Incorrectly cutting the battery cable and not being aware of the airbag trigger mechanisms in any car could get you killed. The reporter who did the original story clearly didn't have much knowledge, since correctly trained first responders never mess with the high voltage batteries. Responding to hybrids is neither more nor less dangerous than responding to any other vehicle crash or fire if you've been properly trained and apply that training.

[bcsco]

Get a BANG out of driving again...

[zinder]

GM started offering training to first responders a long time ago, in 2010 (or before). With a quick google search, you can find the training doc that GM prepared. Similar training was offered by Toyota when hybrid vehicles started emerging on the market.

The fires issue has been put to rest. No Chevy Volt has ever exploded. One volt caught fire three weeks after a simmulated crash by NHTSA. The other two “fires” were crashes done on batteries not installed in a car. The three so-called private-owner fires were each cases where a volt was parked in garage that caught fire, and in each case the volt was eliminated as the cause by the local fire marshall. Move along please, nothing to see here.

According to FEMA, from 1996 to 1998 “there were an estimated annual average of 377,000 highway vehicle (automobiles, vans, trucks) fires”. While I have seen other estimates that put the number at 25,000 per year, it’s clear that there is no evidence that electrified vehicles are more dangerous than gasoline and diesel powered cars already on the road.

[jimfree]

If this were Toyota there would be government sponsored class action suits.