Hybrids pose risks for rescue personnel

Telegram Staff report

COLUMBUS - Hybrid vehicles may benefit the environment, but the high voltage that keeps them running could prove deadly for rescue workers.

Battery cables that carry the electricity can have up to 500 volts coursing through them, and more than enough power to kill a person, said Columbus Fire Chief Dean Hefti. Also, differences in the ways the cars run can give emergency responders a false sense of security.

One tricky aspect of the new vehicles is the lack of consistency as to where the cables are placed. If a person is trapped in a vehicle, Hefti said, it seems the car companies put the cables "in all the places first responders cut first."

The only way to know what they are up against is to learn the set-ups of the different models of cars.

One good thing, he said, is that most manufacturers have settled on a single color for the power cables.

"Those are bright orange. Don't cut those," Hefti said.

When the firefighters use metal saws to cut through the vehicles, they put themselves at risk for shock. Some departments are issuing rubber gloves and boots to act as an insulation barrier, Hefti said.

Ernst Toyota Jeep General Manager Rex Adair said about 47 hybrids have been sold here in Columbus, although that does not mean all remain in the city. Toyota is expecting to sell 80,000 Prius hybrids nationwide this year, he said.

"As they become more popular, we're going to find ourselves in that situation," Hefti said.

Another concern he has about the hybrids focuses on the way they run.

Hybrid cars idle silently, and even though a first responder may think the car is off, the only way to be sure is to put the car in park, take out the key, and disconnect the battery.

"When approaching a hybrid car you may think it is shut off. The gas engine is not running so you assume the gas engine is shut off. You start extricating the driver, she takes her foot off the brake, the car could lurch ahead because of the electric motor," Hefti said.

In order to educate first responders about hybrid car safety, Hefti said he will look for sponsors to bring in experts on the subject.

In addition to the dangers that hybrids can present, Hefti said many safety features added to cars have the opposite effect on first responders.

With side, front, and curtain airbags that deploy at speeds up to 200 mph, firefighters who accidentally cut through a car and into one of the bags can receive a heavy hit. Compressed-gas cylinders used to deploy the airbags (some cars have as many as 12) can explode in a car fire.

Hefti said one automaker is no longer putting indicators of airbags in the cars, leaving firefighters with no idea if or where they are.