Chevy and OnStar will develop safety resources, web-based training materials and vehicle extrication video instructions for first responders, while NFPA will be developing training and course curriculum to make sure first responders know how to respond to crashes involving EVs.
The announcement was made during the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Fire-Rescue International Conference in Chicago on Thursday. At the event, Chevrolet and OnStar hosted a three-hour training session demonstrating how an extraction from a Chevrolet Volt should be done.
“With the Chevrolet Volt and other electric vehicles about to hit the streets, it is important to know that first responders are trained and ready to respond,” said Andrew Klock, NFPA’s senior project manager for the initiative.
“First responders have a long history of successfully adapting their response to new automotive technologies in order to protect the public as well as themselves.”
This is the first time a manufacturer thinks of training first responders how to cope with an accident involving electric vehicles. Trainings will begin being available in the first part of 2011.
Although at first glance it would appear there are no differences between an intervention on a regular car and one on electric vehicles, the fact that the cars are packed with electronics and batteries not enough tested in impacts may pose unexpected challenges for first responders.
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