Hybrid Vehicle Rescue Operations

[Guest]

Maybe WC could organize a series of 3-hr classes hosted by TOYOTA to demonstrate safe engine shutdown procedures. It would certainly be easier to do than to have Toyota bring a Prius to dozens of Depts. in the area.....

From NYTimes:

September 18, 2005

Wary of High-Voltage Batteries, Rescuers Study Up on Hybrids

By TIM MORAN

SIXTEEN may become a vitally important number for firefighters to keep in mind. That's how many feet from a Prius that Toyota says its electronic key must be taken to be certain the hybrid powertrain will not be able to start.

Firefighters and paramedics say that hybrid vehicles like the Prius, which use high-voltage batteries to power their electric motors, worry them, because they present unfamiliar challenges when a rescue team reaches the scene of an accident. Among the challenges is the potential for an electric motor, inadvertently left on, to move the car during a rescue operation.

In addition, the Prius and some other new vehicles are equipped with ignition locks that do not require a mechanical key, instead relying on coded radio signals from a small transmitter to secure the car. Such electronic keys may even stay in the driver's pocket, rather than being inserted in a dashboard slot, so a rescuer may have trouble finding it for removal beyond the 16-foot range.

Rescuers refer to a crucial 15-minute period at the scene of an accident as a "golden window" in which it is critical to attend to those injured most seriously and get them treatment. Medical crews, police officers and fire personnel need to quickly size up the situation and choose the best methods to remove injured people.

New technology is making that decision harder. Unlike gasoline-powered cars, responders cannot easily determine that a quiet-running electric powertrain is entirely shut down, raising the possibility that in the course of a fast-paced rescue effort a hybrid might suddenly lurch ahead or that high-voltage wires might be cut. As a result, rescuers are likely to be cautious in approaching the newest models.

"The ones that really give us the most fright are the hybrids, where at idle they're still on and armed," said Michael Dettloff, a firefighter and paramedic in Auburn Hills, Mich. "But you can't tell because they're silent."

Although Mr. Dettloff has yet to encounter a crashed hybrid, he said his worries are based on what he knows of the increasingly complex cars he encounters around Auburn Hills. Chrysler, Volkswagen and numerous suppliers have headquarters there, so the latest models are often seen on its highways.

Mona Richard, a Toyota spokeswoman, said disarming the latest generation of the Prius, which uses an electronic key and a dashboard pushbutton to start the engine, is simple: just open the car door and press the button marked "power" on the dashboard.

"We have thousands of hybrid vehicles out there, and there's never been one incident," Ms. Richard said.

But a 23-page emergency response guide published by Toyota lists two procedures for disarming the vehicle, including a seven-step process that begins with blocking the wheels and includes taking the key 16 feet away from the car. Rescuers must check for a "ready" light on the dashboard, which indicates the car is on, before pushing the power button to turn it off. If the light is not on and the button is pushed, rescuers might in fact be switching the Prius on.

A quicker method requires opening the rear hatch, removing the luggage compartment floor and a shallow plastic trunk pan to reach and disconnect the car's 12-volt battery, which isolates the power systems. Even then, the manual warns, the high-voltage system holds a charge for five minutes. If air bags have already deployed, though, circuit breakers should have automatically disconnected high-voltage wiring, according to the Toyota manual.

Ron Moore, a battalion chief in the McKinney, Tex., fire department and a columnist for Firehouse magazine, said hybrids present challenges that require specialized training for accident responders.

"My prediction is responders will arrive at a hybrid vehicle crash scene and not know it," Mr. Moore said. "That's because of this O.E.M. trend to make the vehicles look conventional," he said, using an industry abbreviation for automakers. "The difference between a Honda Accord and a Honda Accord Hybrid is very subtle."

The high-voltage circuits in today's hybrids can be easily recognized by orange shielding covering the wires. At this point, the use of orange wire is a convention among automakers, and may become an industry standard set by the Society of Automotive Engineers, though such standards are voluntary.

A society spokesman, Jack Pokrzywa, said hybrid technology was a "hot issue" within his organization, adding that a committee is working on matters like wiring standards. Mr. Pokrzywa could offer no details beyond saying that the society's hybrid technical standards committee "is developing recommended practices for the designers, manufacturers and maintainers of hybrids in order to serve the public interest."

Mr. Moore, the firefighter in Texas, is not waiting for the standards committee to complete its work, instead going directly to automakers for information. "There are hazards on the hybrid vehicles," he said. "But a hazard is something that gets you when you are unprepared or uneducated."

On Toyotas, he noted, there is a removable circuit breaker mounted on the side of the high-voltage battery and a rescuer wearing electrical safety gloves can remove it to disable the system. Honda hybrids have shutoffs that look like light switches near the rear seat backs, or in the center of the cargo area, to do the same thing.

Mr. Moore said automakers and dealers are generally cooperative if emergency workers ask for a close look at hybrids to familiarize themselves with the technology, but noted that it is up to the rescue units to ask for the opportunity.

"Toyota, for example, will even bring the cars out to your fire station or ambulance station to help you learn about them ahead of time," he said. "But they aren't going to come up to you to say, Hey, can we stop by tonight?"

[CHIEFPHIL 90]

Maybe WC could organize a series of 3-hr classes hosted by TOYOTA to demonstrate safe engine shutdown procedures. It would certainly be easier to do than to have Toyota bring a Prius to dozens of Depts. in the area.....

From NYTimes:

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We recently had a class given by the Toyota dealer in our area, it was an excellent class. The dealership , along with the regional VP for safety gave a 1/2 hr class and then we went thru the 3 models with a mechanic. Lasted bout 2 hours. Lot of good detail as pointed out in the article.

toyota has a Prius emergency response guide. # OTH02U

emergency responce guides for selected Toyota alternative fuel vehicles may be reviewd at

http://techinfo.toyota.com

there 2004 2 generation and a 2006 model year guides.

Edited September 18, 2005 by CHIEFPHIL

[dadbo46 50]

HEAD's UP !! Westchester County has 4 hybrid buses on order. Should be delivered next spring. Will be garaged down in Yonkers but used on routes through out the county.

Edited September 18, 2005 by dadbo46

[ny10570 745]

ALl this talk about hybrids and nothign about LPG, LNG and Hydrogen cars. The LNG ar eespecially popular in the tri state area (ie ConEd, Municipal Cars, and Buses)

[calhobs 110]

ALl this talk about hybrids and nothign about LPG, LNG and Hydrogen cars.  The LNG ar eespecially popular in the tri state area (ie ConEd, Municipal Cars, and Buses)

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What is LPG and LNG?

[Guest alsfirefighter]

LPG = Liquified Petroleum Gas....in short basically propane. It also has some other gases mixed in from the manufacturing process like hexane etc. Under pressure the gas turns to liquid form.

LNG: Liquified Natural Gas...same principle as LPG.

With both types of vehicles its about knowing how to recognize you have a hazard present and how to effectively deal with them and to protect yourself. Having a good knowledge of liquified petroleum products and what hazards they present is the best for those. The utmost being a BLEVE. If you prevent a BLEVE you have the problem knicked for sooner or later the fuel will run out. You let the product burn out while keeping the container cool and it will basically mitigate itself. If you put out the fire, you run the risk of having unburned product escape into the atmosphere and you now have a explosive flammable gas free floating.

Hybrids are something newer that as departments deal with them more, better articles and information will be spread across class curriculums and trade journals to learn from.

[dadbo46 50]

LPG not used much around here for vehicle fuel. Experimented with out west in Wa, Ca, Or, Az.....not maintenance friendly and volitaile.

Con Ed uses CNG in some vehicles....that's compressed natural gas. Need a cascade system to fast fuel vehicles or takes hours. Testing has shown that environmental benefits from CNG can be achieved by using cleaner diesel.

[DOC22 1]

LPG not used much around here for vehicle fuel.  Experimented with out west in Wa, Ca, Or, Az.....not maintenance friendly and volitaile.

Con Ed uses CNG in some vehicles....that's compressed natural gas.  Need a cascade system to fast fuel vehicles or takes hours.  Testing has shown that environmental benefits from CNG can be achieved by using cleaner diesel.

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NYC DEP has had some CNG vehicles, not sure if they still do, but I know they do use a number of hybrid a lot of Prius and quite a few of the new Chevy hybrid pickups.