CENTRAL VIRGINIA -
Hybrid vehicles are everywhere. They're great on gas and great for the environment. As a result, more and more of them are popping up around Richmond but hybrids have a hidden danger; you can't afford to mess with these cars - unless you know what you're doing.
"Lady lost control and it was straddling a deep ditch," recalls Lieutenant Al Thompson of Chesterfield County's fire department, "We had to open the door and almost climb into the vehicle. The first thing I told my crew was that it was a hybrid vehicle."
You can't treat a hybrid like any other car. Under the hood, these high voltage cars can be dangerous.
That's why Jordan Hendler with the Washington Metropolitan Auto Body Association has been training area firefighters about hybrids and how to handle them in violent crashes.
Hybrid vehicles use a lot of electrical power and that can be a problem if firefighters need to use the jaws of life, or cut into a car to get someone out.
Cutting into a hot car, would be like cutting into a power line. So rescuers need to know what they're looking at. Hendler tells them to look for a large wire, usually blue or orange and emergency crews need to make sure the engine is off. That can be hard to do because the cars are so quiet when they're turned on. So, you might think it's already turned off.
So, if you're coming up to the scene, you need to physically turn off the ignition key, but there could be a catch.
"A lot of these hybrid vehicles use a key that's not an ignition key," explains Hendler. "It's actually something the owner of the vehicle can carry around in their pocket."
Hendler warns the firefighters she's training that if the fab or remote key is in a victim's pocket and they've just gone through an accident "how can they get it?"
The key is wireless and acts like Blue tooth. If it's too close to the car, the car could start moving if the victim takes their foot off the break or the car is put into gear.
You also have to wait 10 to 12 minutes to ensure the electrical system is completely shut down. If you don't, says Hanover Battalion Chief Willie Jones, the airbags might deploy. "If we apply pressure to the seats, it could cause harm to firefighters or a person in the vehicle."
During the past two years, firefighters have responded to more than 200 hybrid vehicle crashes in Central Virginia. Hybrid car owner Bob Adams says he's relieved and glad the training is out there.
"That's a great thing," says Adams. "And really I was not aware that there were special precautions that had to be taken, special knowledge that emergency personnel had to have."
Special knowledge Lieutenant Thompson says he is glad he has."If we end up getting hurt," says Thompson, "We do the patient no good, because now we have two emergencies, the crew member and that patient."
"Lady lost control and it was straddling a deep ditch," recalls Lieutenant Al Thompson of Chesterfield County's fire department, "We had to open the door and almost climb into the vehicle. The first thing I told my crew was that it was a hybrid vehicle."
You can't treat a hybrid like any other car. Under the hood, these high voltage cars can be dangerous.
That's why Jordan Hendler with the Washington Metropolitan Auto Body Association has been training area firefighters about hybrids and how to handle them in violent crashes.
Hybrid vehicles use a lot of electrical power and that can be a problem if firefighters need to use the jaws of life, or cut into a car to get someone out.
Cutting into a hot car, would be like cutting into a power line. So rescuers need to know what they're looking at. Hendler tells them to look for a large wire, usually blue or orange and emergency crews need to make sure the engine is off. That can be hard to do because the cars are so quiet when they're turned on. So, you might think it's already turned off.
So, if you're coming up to the scene, you need to physically turn off the ignition key, but there could be a catch.
"A lot of these hybrid vehicles use a key that's not an ignition key," explains Hendler. "It's actually something the owner of the vehicle can carry around in their pocket."
Hendler warns the firefighters she's training that if the fab or remote key is in a victim's pocket and they've just gone through an accident "how can they get it?"
The key is wireless and acts like Blue tooth. If it's too close to the car, the car could start moving if the victim takes their foot off the break or the car is put into gear.
You also have to wait 10 to 12 minutes to ensure the electrical system is completely shut down. If you don't, says Hanover Battalion Chief Willie Jones, the airbags might deploy. "If we apply pressure to the seats, it could cause harm to firefighters or a person in the vehicle."
During the past two years, firefighters have responded to more than 200 hybrid vehicle crashes in Central Virginia. Hybrid car owner Bob Adams says he's relieved and glad the training is out there.
"That's a great thing," says Adams. "And really I was not aware that there were special precautions that had to be taken, special knowledge that emergency personnel had to have."
Special knowledge Lieutenant Thompson says he is glad he has."If we end up getting hurt," says Thompson, "We do the patient no good, because now we have two emergencies, the crew member and that patient."
