The NFPA announced a pilot electric-vehicle-safety training program that will result in a national curriculum. As part of the curriculum development process, NFPA researchers are reviewing the emergency-response guides from several automobile manufacturers, including Nissan’s LEAF all-electric vehicle. The NFPA will include all submitted emergency response guides on its electric-vehicle-safety training website.

The pilot program was developed to address firefighters’ misconceptions regarding emergency situations involving hybrid or electric vehicles, said Ken Riddle, a retired Las Vegas deputy fire chief and executive director for the Nevada Fire Chief Association. Riddle, who is spearheading the project for the NFPA, said the association’s research on the topic found that firefighters hold several misconceptions regarding how to address a fire or an extrication of a victim from an all-electric vehicle. For example, some firefighters were unsure whether water could be used to extinguish the fire because of the car’s electrical current or thought they were at danger of an electrical shock.

“In reality with a fire that involves a hybrid you fight the fire basically the same, and there is no hazard from an electric shock,” Riddle said.

Indeed, Riddle said fire chiefs must be educated that emergency situations involving hybrids and electric vehicles are unique but don’t present any more hazards than a regular car fire. In fact, some in the field would argue there is less risk because of the absence of gasoline.

He said to help educate chiefs and other in leadership, the NFPA has gathered subject-matter experts to develop curriculum that answers firefighters’ questions on the matter. The goal is to have a national curriculum developed that includes a classroom component, a computer-based component and 3D simulations of hybrid and electric vehicles involved in incidents.

The curriculum will be offered starting in late April, Riddle added.