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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Firefighters and paramedics are accustomed to being sent to crash scenes to put out fires, pry people out of vehicles and tend to their injuries.
But when the cars involved are electric, some are unsure how to proceed.
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"It really poses a new challenge for us when we pull up on an accident scene and we see one of these cars," said Jim Starrett, an Upper Arlington firefighter. "It really shows how little we know about the technology and how fast it's moving."
That's why the National Fire Protection Association is offering training. The nonprofit group based in Quincy, Mass., was established in 1896 to promote fire prevention, including providing such things as training and model fire codes.
Starrett was among more than 30 firefighters who attended the electric-vehicle safety training at the Ohio Fire Academy in Reynoldsburg yesterday.
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He and the others, including two firefighters from Calgary, Canada, who came for the free daylong seminar, will, in turn, teach others, said Chris Pepler, a Torrington, Conn., firefighter who conducted the training for the association.
"These students are actually instructors, and their job is to bring the information back to their communities," Pepler said.
The training included a look at a 2012 Chevrolet Volt so the firefighters could see the engine and learn how to turn it off.
Turning it off is the first thing to do at a crash scene, or the wheels could keep turning, Pepler told them. He also pointed out the high-voltage cord, which should never be cut.
"The scariest part about this vehicle is how quiet it is," Pepler told the firefighters as the Volt glided almost soundlessly in front of them.
The firefighters also learned that they will not get electrocuted if the hybrid is in water, which is a common myth, Pepler said.
The training was well worth the nearly 2,000-mile trip, said Geoff Van Steenis, one of the firefighters from Canada. "You don't know what you're doing or getting yourself into. Just like anything new, we always fear the unknown."
Ohio is the 32nd state where the association has offered electric-car safety training, which it started after President Barack Obama set a goal of getting 1 million electric cars on the road by 2015.
"These hybrid electric vehicles are all here to stay," Pepler said.
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