Toyota electric hybrid car (Credit: YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images)
Reporting Sean Adams
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – With more and more hybrid electric cars on the roads, fire companies are faced with new challenges.
That’s why local firefighters are learning the do’s and don’ts so they don’t get zapped by the high voltage cables and wires while trying to rescue trapped motorists.
LISTEN: WCBS 880′s Sean Adams reports on the training
“The manufacturers have been fantastic with us. They’ve been working with us on this. They’ve come out here and trained our firefighters, our EMS, our police on the do’s and don’ts,” Pete Burn, of the Rockland County Training Center, said.
The cars are equipped with high voltage wires and firefighters will have to recognize which wires should and should not be cut.
“There are certain wires that you shouldn’t cut, and they’re marked so we can tell where they are easily enough. They’re usually a bright color,” Burn said.
Burn added that he would like to see some standardization with the cars—a uniform color the help responders recognize the high voltage wires.
If you’re thinking about hybrid, Burn said to ask the dealer plenty of questions, be informed, but not afraid.
“From the consumer point of view, the cars are very, very safe,” he said.
