Electric and hybrid vehicles pose new risks to first responders

[rebewranger]

Electric and hybrid vehicles pose new risks to first responders
Kimberly Keagy - Yesterday 6:45 PM
 

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) - More and more people are switching to hybrid or electric vehicles, intending to save money at the pump or help the environment.
 
The National Transportation Safety Board said electric vehicle fires pose a threat to first responders.

In an 80-page report based on an investigation of four electric vehicle fires, the NTSB found that the vehicles’ high-voltage lithium-ion batteries “pose the risk of electric shock to emergency responders from exposure to the high-voltage components of a damaged lithium-ion battery.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/electric-and-hybrid-vehicles-pose-new-risks-to-first-responders/ar-AAY1o2c?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=de80498441c843ea927051d3cd142f65

[Kamaji]

That risk has been known for years.  I remember talking to an NYFD guy a couple of years ago who said that, basically, if they go to a collision with an EV, they won't touch it until they're sure the batteries have discharged, which typically means that if the person inside is injured, or the vehicle is on fire, the occupants are likely to die first.  They didn't want to go near those things.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Maybe the Uvalde police can use the excuse they needed to charge the car the next time there is a shooter?