General Motors (GM) is launching its new EV First Responder Training Program that will go with its lineup of EVs, such as the Chevrolet Bolt EV, GMC Hummer EV, and Cadillac LYRIQ.
The program will deliver vital information on the EV tech and industry best practices for dealing with EVs and their hybrids in potentially difficult situations. GM will be training people through the program with live presentations and presentations from experts, virtual demos, and videos.
They will schedule four-hour safety presentations in different cities through their gmEVFirstResponderTraining.com website. Furthermore, they will offer certificates through the Illinois Fire Service Institute to those who finish all the sessions.
Andrew Klock of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) said in a statement as reported by Car and Driver, "The best way for the public and private vehicle fleet owners to rapidly adopt EVs is to Tain firefighters and emergency responders on how to handle incidents involving battery-powered vehicles. The fire service has had more than 100 years to gain the knowledge needed to respond to internal-combustion engine fires and it's critical that they are now educated on EV safety."
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The Importance of EV Safety
It's clear that electric vehicles are gaining traction, thanks to the commendable efforts of governments and corporations alike. However, this makes it all the more important to ensure their security. EVs have some built-in safety features, such as their heavy and bulky battery packs. These are pretty much inoperable, but they could be shredded and dispersed if the vehicle crashes or even if it used a little too much force in the right place.
This could cause a lot of problems, especially since the battery packs contain a lot of Lithium Ion, which can be extremely flammable and dangerous.
EVs are also more susceptible to fire because of the use of power converters. These are the batteries used to convert the electricity from the grid into the one needed for the vehicle's electric motors.
This could definitely lead to issues if the vehicle catches fire. However, GM is already making it easier for emergency responders to easily identify the parts of the vehicle that can be easily taken away from a fire. Furthermore, they have also added a feature that will allow the vehicle to detect itself if there is a fire, and shut down.
All these certainly help in dealing with fires and other issues EVs face during emergencies. It would be best if the authorities can enlist all the help they can get to ensure EVs are safe from harm. By time, they will also have improved the EVs themselves to be even more impenetrable to harm.
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Written by April Fowell
