Defusing The New Hot' Cars
Hybrid vehicles may save on gas, but their powerful batteries add new challenges for first responders Firefighters and other first responders will tell you that risk is always a part of what they do when they come upon an accident. And the way you minimize that risk, they will add, is to understand what you are up against by training for it. That’s what is happening in fire departments across New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, as more and more drivers turn to vehicles that can get upwards of 45 miles to the gallon running on alternative energy sources. The problems are these: Depending on the model, the batteries in hybrid vehicles can carry 144 to 650 volts, levels that experts say can injure a person. By comparison, the electrical systems in conventional cars use 12-volt batteries. That’s an issue in disabling a vehicle an in using extrication equipment like the “Jaws of Life.” Hurst, which manufacturers the extrication tool, already is marketing a specially insulated model because of the gas-electric hybrids. The layout for the operating systems can vary from vehicle to vehicle, manufacturer to manufacturer. “The technology is basically the same but they all have different shut off systems,” said Frank Corkum Jr., the Warwick fire chief. “There is an inertia switch and they are all located in different spots.” It’s difficult to immediately identify a hybrid. Manufacturers are not required to indicate on the outside of a vehicle that the car is a hybrid. The cars are marked on their doors or on the trunk usually, but often doors and lettering flies off in an accident. All of the cars are marked under the hood. Future Toyota models, meanwhile, will have external hybrid symbols.) “For safety, you have to identify the vehicle and know what to do,” said Jeff Strauss, the first lieutenant of the Fredon, N.J., Fire Department. “The high voltage you are dealing with is another dilemma to figure out. But the last thing you need is another victim.” History Honda introduced the first gasoline-powered hybrid vehicle in the United States in 1990; Toyota followed a year later with its Prius. Ford and Chrevolet have followed. There are approximately 200,000 hybrids on American roads today. That’s a very small percentage of the types of cars and trucks driven in the country. For instance, of the 16.7 million cars and trucks sold in this country in 2003, 43,435, or less than half of one percent, were hybrids, according to a recent story in the Arizona Republic. But the number is expected to increase as manufacturers from Ford to Lexus to Saturn introduce new models - and as the price of gasoline increases. Toyota is the largest hybrid car manufacturer, selling the most of their alternative-fuel vehicles in California, Florida and Arizona, according to Tom Mincer, general counsel for the Rosadao Group, which operates 11 car dealerships in the Pike County, Pa., area. “Hybrids,” he said, “don’t sell well in the Northeast because they lack power.” None of the fire departments interviewed for this article have come upon an accident involving a hybrid vehicle. Still, there’s need for preparation. Dave Aroune, the service manager at Toyota dealership in Newton, N.J., will be attending manufacturer’s training classes this month. Later this year, he added, the dealership will offer safety training programs every three months. “Firefighters really don’t need to be intimidated,” Aroune said. “We can’t let our technology interfere. You just have to be aware.” The challenges Members of the Chester Fire Department recently attended a training session on hybrid cars offered by Toyota of Newburgh, said Bill Murray, owner of Murray’s Auto Body on Clowes Avenue in Goshen and chairman of the Chester Fire Department’s board of commissioners. The solution is actually quite simple: pulling off the fuses before beginning the rescue. Pulling off the fuses “de-energizes” the car, he said, making it possible to cut through any part of the vehicle safely with a jaws of life. Murray said that even with conventional cars, first responders must cut the battery cables as their first step. The department is looking to get some training from the Ford company on its hybrids, he said. Anthony Bulzomi, the service manager at Toyota of Newburgh, said there is much interest among first responders for information about hybrids. A surprisingly big response -78 people - turned out for the session in January. Bulzomi and Brian Colt, who taught the class, offered some Toyota hybrids for the first responders to inspect closely. While all Prius models are hybrids, he said, not all Highlanders are. Looking at a Highlander SUV hybrid from the front, a first responder would not be able to tell it from a conventional car. The inspection helped them to tell the difference. The question first responders asked most was if hybrids could be propelled without the engine running if the victim of an accident was depressing the accelerator, for example. Bulzomi said the procedure is the same as it is for conventional cars: turn the ignition key to off. Some departments, like Woodbury Fire Chief Brian Wallace’s, are contacting car dealers which sell hybrid vehicles to brief their members. Paul Eichengreen, the chief of the Tuxedo Joint Fire District, said he plans for his volunteers to get training from the Clinton, N.J., First Aid and Rescue Squad, a nonprofit organization that provides pre-hospital emergency medical and rescue services, including vehicle extraction. The squad has 115 members and responds to 1,400 calls per year, including many on Interstate Route 78. Corkum was just 16 when he joined the Warwick Fire Department. In his 22 years on the department, he has seen lots of changes. He is taking this one in stride. “This changes the playing field for us,” said Corkum, who has served as chief for the past six years. “We are writing new standard operating guidelines to include the dangers of hybrids.” Corkum and members of the department recently completed a two-hour class offered by Leo Kaytes Ford to explain the workings of Ford’s hybrid, the Escape. But it’s not a one size fits all type of thing. Each of the dozen or so hybrids out there has its own systems. The department has posted the technical manuals on its Web site for all members to use. Corkum has not had any incidents with hybrids yet. With their growing popularity, he is sure he’ll have to use this new knowledge sometime soon. “They are good for the environment,” he said. “We’ll just have to find out how to work with them.”