By Mary Klaus
Patriot News
Copyright 2007 The Patriot News Co.
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Firefighters at car accidents or fires are used to opening the vehicle’s hood, seeing the 12-volt battery and disconnecting it.
These days, that battery might not be the only one, two instructors told 150 firefighters at recent hybrid-vehicle training classes at the fire company in West York, sponsored by York County Fire School and four county fire departments.
“There’s over 1 million hybrid vehicles on the roads,” said Dave Dalrymple, a New Brunswick, N.J., firefighter and nationally recognized firefighting instructor.
While responding to a crash involving a hybrid is generally not more dangerous than dealing with a regular vehicle, experts cautioned that emergency workers need to be aware of differences.
Because the hybrid circuit is self-contained and not grounded to the chassis, Dalrymple said that it’s not easy for rescue workers or drivers to get shocked.
Usually, disconnecting the 12-volt battery sends a signal to the second, high-voltage battery to shut down, said Carl Avery, York County Fire School program coordinator. That should make the car safe, Dalrymple said.
Though rescuers usually will not have to interact with the high-voltage batteries, Dalrymple said it’s still good for emergency workers to know where they are. There are two electrical systems on board, Dalrymple and Avery said, one powered by the normal 12-volt battery and the other by a battery that can have 144 to 330 volts.
“The high-voltage batteries in hybrids aren’t all under the hood,” Dalrymple said. “The high-voltage battery is behind the rear seat of a Honda, in the trunk of a BMW ... . The Mercedes has one in the engine compartment and another under the front seat. You need to know where these are.”
While area first responders said they haven’t yet had emergencies involving hybrid cars, emergency workers know with the vehicles rising popularity, it’s only a matter of time.
Hybrids “are the way of the future,” said East Prospect Fire Chief Bill Hoover.
In the midstate, hybrids are so popular that Faulkner Toyota Scion in Swatara Twp. “can’t keep them on our lot,” said Jennifer Ritter, sales consultant. “We have waiting lists of 30 to 90 days for them. People like their gas mileage. Most get 50 to 55 miles to the gallon.”
Hybrids rely on electric motors for the most fuel-intensive aspects of acceleration, such as starting from a standstill. They then revert to gasoline-fueled power when cruising. On some hybrids, when the driver cruises or brakes, the gasoline engine charges the electric motor’s battery.
“Hybrids can crash the same as normal cars,” said Jerry Ozog, Harrisburg Area Community College director of fire and EMS training. “So we have to get used to them. We need to approach all car accidents and fires by focusing on safety and de-energizing the vehicle.”
Harrisburg Fire Lt. Douglas Bair, who has taught city firefighters about hybrids, said firefighters should “treat all cars as hybrids until you know differently.
“A stopped hybrid could still be in gear and not turned off after an accident,” Bair said. “So firefighters should block the wheels of cars in accidents to avoid getting run over.”