The NAFTC is currently developing a collection of workshops customized for first responders - the fire and rescue teams who arrive on the scene immediately following an accident. The first of the series, “Hybrid Safety Workshop for First Responders,” was beta tested in front of fifteen Morgantown, West Virginia, firemen in early January. The two-hour PowerPoint presentation and Q&A session is designed to educate first responders on the extrication and safety of passengers in accidents involving hybrid vehicles.

Hybrids are dangerous for first responders because they are high-voltage vehicles and must be worked on with extreme care and caution at the scene of an accident. The NAFTC’s presentation included detailed diagrams and explanations on the location of important operational components, a hybrid’s electrical circuitry, specific features of different models, and examples of manufacturers’ guides for approaching a hybrid involved in a wreck.

“The workshop taught us to be very cautious around these vehicles when involved in an accident, and we will look into outfitting our companies with the equipment necessary to handle the high voltages contained in their batteries,” said Captain Bill Graham, Morgantown Fire Department Training Coordinator. “The staff was very knowledgeable in the field, and I highly recommend the course to any emergency responder.”

Presented at the Morgantown Fire Department’s South High Street Station, the firemen in the audience were all working twenty-four-hour shifts, and two even had to exit during the workshop to respond to an emergency call. Included among the firemen in attendance were emergency medical technicians and some trained in scuba diving rescue operations.

NAFTC Photo Al Ebron, NAFTC Executive Director, and the First Responder Beta Test participants from the Morgantown Fire Department

“The Morgantown Fire Department was so pleased with the training that the NAFTC has been invited to present it to other shifts,” said Katina Sayers-Walker, NAFTC’s curriculum developer. “Word has also spread of the training to surrounding precincts.”

The “Hybrid Safety Workshop for First Responders” will be available beginning in Spring 2006, and the NAFTC is looking forward to adding more workshops catering to first responders.

It’s always satisfying to provide those interested with AFV and advanced technology vehicle knowledge,” said NAFTC Executive Director Al Ebron, “But to be able to help educate those first responders who do so much for us is even more gratifying.”