Hybrid "Mis-Information"

[rmoore]

Here's one of the ultimate examples of wrong information being spread via the Internet. The following paragraph was posted in a hybrid vehicle user's chat room by someone claiming to be one of our own. Where the NFPA stuff comes from... no one knows! If anyone can recognize who this guy is, tell him to place his tongue on the '+' and '-' terminals of a 12-volt battery and do us all a favor!

Here's what he posted.........

"As an ex-Firefighter for a small City I have been told about a potential hazard to owners of Hybrid cars. As it currently stands in most small cities and towns with Volunteer Fire Departments when a hybrid vehicle is involved in an accident, emergency crews (Firefighters, EMS, Police) are not allowed to touch or put water on a hybrid vehicle until all power has been "disabled" by an authorized person (I.E. Electrician).

What does this mean to you the Hybrid owner? If you were to be passing through a small community and got into an accident you and anyone else in your vehicle may not receive medical attention until the local Power Company arrives and "disables" the large power source in your trunk. This also applies if your car was to catch fire. There is a chance that no extinguishment measures would be used until the Power Company arrived. In some cases the NFPA has estimated that this additional "response" time could be an additional 30 minutes."

[LeeJunkins]

I wonder how many power company personnel would even know what to do.

I read a post on here a while back about a fire department that refused to extricate one. The myths are running wild every where about Hybrids and the bad part about it is that so many extrication classes are being taught and nothing included about it.

I set in on one of the biggest schools in the country just 2 months ago, and the instructor told the class that "Toyota has put out a booklet called an ERG or GRE or something like that, that gives a little info on how to shut the main battery down. As fare as I know they are the only ones that has this."

My question again do we need a state instructors certification ?
This is not a lack of knowledge, this is an excuse for lack of preperation for a class. and that being what will get someone killed.

[Bones42]

My question again do we need a state instructors certification ?
This is not a lack of knowledge, this is an excuse for lack of preperation for a class. and that being what will get someone killed.

Absolutely!

[gober88]

Hybrids debunking the myths

I am with you Lee on the myths spreading wild around the industry about hydrids. I finally got fed up with the interest my own department had so I did some research on my own.
Fortunately my wife has been in the auto industry for over 20 years. She is on a first name basis with over 150 GSM and dealers in the area we live. I mentioned to her my concerns and well away we went. We quickly visited All of the dealers that at that time had hybrids on the market, and on their lots. I quickly got a good look and some good truthful information from mechanics that work on these vehicles. I was also given factory shut down guides as well as emergency response guides (ERG) for each and every vehicle that I saw. I promptly studied and learned as much as possible and taught a class to my entire department.

[ElectricHoser]

I wonder how many power company personnel would even know what to do.

Nice reboot on an old thread.

(raises hand)
I work for the power company, and I assure you that my lineworkers and substation personnel probably wouldn't have much idea what to do with a wrecked or burning electric car. They probably would not have any big problem with manipulating the electric components that they could see and easily identify, certainly their protective gear would keep them safe from the electric hazards (but not the fire/MVA hazards). But if you called them, they would show up, give the car a hard look, and then start to suggest you call the fire department.... and stop midsentence when they realized you were wearing turnout gear.

I know, I am not sharing anything you guys didn't already know.

This is about as helpful as those car safety tools that come with an emergency window-breaking hammer, flashlight, seatbelt cutter, and (I kid you not, someone gave me this POS), a retractable needle for popping deployed airbags! It came with adhesive velcro pads so it stays in place after the 55 MPH collision and splashdown in the levee, when you really need it.

Thanks to firefighterclosecalls for the fitting graphic below....

[Rayr49]

Brock Yates, who used to write a column for Car & Driver magazine, reported a couple of years ago that firefighters had told him they would not touch a hybrid vehicle because they were too dangerous. A number of firefighters both career and volly wrote to explain that he was getting his info from a very small minority.

His explanation was that he had obtained his information from a few firefighters at a local pub near his home in upstate New York. I still don't know if they were serious or pulling his leg.

Car & Driver advertises that they have the largest circulation in the US of any auto magazine. I wonder how many of their readers passed on hybrids because of that one column?

Stay Safe
IACOJ

[LeeJunkins]

This is about as helpful as those car safety tools that come with an emergency window-breaking hammer, flashlight, seatbelt cutter, and (I kid you not, someone gave me this POS), a retractable needle for popping deployed airbags!

Dear ElectricHoser please help me, I have two of those tools and for some reason the needle will not work on either one of them, they stick in the bag but it will not pop

It is unbelievable that there is so much misinformation out there that companies actually design and sell tools to do something that can not be done. I wonder how much testing they done on their product.

[SpokaneRep]

Gober,
Can you share the ERG's? Im way too lazy to get them myself.

[FiftyOnePride]

I recently received my certification in AVET here in NYS, and our instructor spent a good amount of time on hybrids. We took what we learned and spread it on back to our departments, so it's safe to drive a hybrid through my small town now.

[JTFIRE80]

Gober,
Can you share the ERG's? Im way too lazy to get them myself.

Check out the below 2 sites. You can pretty much gather about 95% of waht you need with the 2.

http://www.firegraphics.org/ERG.htm

http://www.limerickfirerescue.org/ and click on training, its at the bottom.

What I did for my dept was print them all out, laminate them, and put them in 2 binders. My reason for laminating vs. document protectors was that they can be brought right up to the incident scene in foul weather, and not have to worry about messing up the pages.