PORT ANGELES — A one-day seminar to teach those who arrive first at wreck scenes how to respond when advanced electric-drive vehicles are involved filled in two days.
About 30 registered for the free class after it was announced Wednesday, said Mike Hansen, automotive technology program coordinator at Peninsula College.
“We may have to schedule another class,” he said Friday.
The class, which will be in the auto shop at Peninsula College’s main campus in Port Angeles on Saturday, was announced to firefighters, ambulance personnel, city police departments, sheriff’s deputies and State Patrol troopersd.
Topics will include key vehicle properties and characteristics, vehicle components, vehicle identification and recommended first-responder procedures.
Class has four modules
The First Responder Safety Training consists of four modules: Hybrid Electric Vehicles, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles, Battery Electric Vehicles and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles.
“Because electric drive vehicles are becoming more prevalent, first responders must understand the differences between these and conventional, gasoline-powered vehicles,” Hansen said.
“Electric-drive vehicles are as safe as conventional vehicles, but they are different,” he added.
Reference guide
The training includes a quick reference guide, called a QRG, which is a flip book for emergency personnel to use at the scene of a wreck.
It details various makes and models of electric-drive vehicles, alerting first responders to such items as high-voltage cables, cut zones and other safety information.
The QRG also is available as a mobile app for Apple devices and will soon be available on the Android platform.
The Electric Drive Vehicle First Responder Safety Training developed by the National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium, a program of West Virginia University, is funded with a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Those interested in a future class are urged to contact Hansen at 360-417-6540 or mhansen@pencol.edu.
