The National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium (NAFTC) conducted an exercise and made a training video at the Center for National Response in Gallagher, West Virginia.

Yes, EVs can crash, and when they do, they present a different set of issues for emergency personnel, as the recent Volt battery fires illustrate. In October, the National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium (NAFTC) conducted an exercise and made a training video at the Center for National Response in Gallagher, West Virginia.

Participants in the Advanced Electric Drive (AED) Vehicle Education Program First Responder Safety Training sessions included paramedics, volunteer fire departments and members of the National Guard. The exercise simulated various emergency scenarios involving advanced technology and hybrid electric vehicles inside the Memorial Tunnel, a 2,800-foot-long highway tunnel that was closed in 1987, and now serves as a training center.

The training video will feature guidelines for dealing with emergencies that involve electric drive vehicles.

“We had two different shoots, one for military training purposes where we used a scenario with a Humvee and an electric hybrid vehicle and another for first responders where we used a conventional fuel vehicle and an electric hybrid vehicle,” said the NAFTC’s Michael Smyth. “These videos will show a 360-degree operation of approaching and assessing the scene of an accident involving an advanced technology vehicle.”

Image: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety