Talking to your Local First Responders

[paco3791]

As a resident of a far flung suburb of Chicago one of the things I wanted to do when I got my S was to make sure I informed my local fire department that they had a new electric car neighbor. I also offered to bring in my car so they could learn a little bit more about EV's and ask any questions they might have. My assumption, which turned out to be spot on, was that for the smallish town that I live in, the local fire and rescue teams hadn't had any specific training or exposure on how to work with EV's in the event of an accident. Since most accidents happen relatively close to home I wanted to make sure that the people I'm most likely to encounter if something did happen would at least have some cursory knowledge of what to do and what to look out for.

So last night I got invited to the departments "training night". We had a chance to go over Tesla's First responder Guide http://www.teslamotors.com/firstresponders, as well as this video which I found on the TMC forum a while ago and which is very well made http://youtu.be/ntK3rvVl2Qw, and has a lot of good info not just for the Model S but for how first responders should deal with EV's in general. Then we brought the car into the fire house and we had a chance to look over the car together and they could ask any questions they wanted. I even took a couple groups out for a quick spin so they could get an idea of what the car could do :biggrin:. All told I was there for about an hour and a half going over everything and answering a bunch of questions.

Overall the reception was excellent, lots of good questions, lots of enthusiasm for the car and the technology, lots of complements on how sharp the car looked and drove. The impression that I got was that this was their first exposure to any specific information on EV's so I'm really glad I took the time to reach out to them and at least do this quick introduction.

As EV's get more and more prevalent I would encourage everyone, especially those of us that live in more rural areas, to be proactive and let your local first responders know your out there and that they need to be ready to deal with EV's now and in the future. I will say that I may have a background that is more suited to this sort of thing than others (BSEE, working at UL for the past 8 years on electrical safety, a background in doing public training), but I think anyone could bring their car in and spread a little good will just by answering the normal questions we get from the general public all the time and making sure the department is aware of the resources out there.

 

[sp4rk]

Thanks for the excellent idea. I think I will try likewise at my local FD.
I will only offer them a "spin" if, and only if, they bring the remote control for the red traffic lights with them!

 

[PokerBroker]

Awesome proactive education! There is definitely a need for this whether it is by owners or Tesla. My stop yesterday at the Rockford, IL supercharger was met by curious local firemen who were just checking it out in the event they had to address an electrical/battery fire. I answered many questions and concerns and they left feeling much better about the technology Tesla has incorporated into their vehicles for fire safety.

 

[efusco]

I did the same with the department closest to my home the first week or two after I got the car last December. Overall well received. They should all have the first responder guide in the iPad app they all carry.

 

[Mike_Schlechter]

As a training officer on a volunteer department, I think that is just plain fantastic! I've used my car as a demo one time, but no one is allowed near it with a hurst tool! Still, huge kudos. If nothing else, firefighters and EMTs all love toys, and the Model S is the ultimate toy.

Truly, great idea! I wish I'd thought of this myself. I've had my car almost a year, and when I had it down at the station it was more to show off the blue lights I installed than a brief talk about extrication and responder safety. Sharing the video is a great idea as well.

 

[neroden]

I've been meaning to do this -- and to give them printed-out copies of Tesla's "how to" manual for first responders. I'm not quite sure how to contact my local fire department without using the emergency phone number, though.

 

[jerry33]

Whenever there are firemen attending one of the car shows, I give them a quick tour of the differences in the Model S. I've approached the local fire department but they don't seem very interested. I believe that's because they think there are only one or two cars out there tops.

 

[Plug Me In]

I just did that at one of the fire stations in my town. One of the guys at work had seen my car and asked me to do it. I also took the opportunity to point out the manual door releases; might save someone getting their window knocked out or door ripped open in event of power loss.

 

[paco3791]

I've been meaning to do this -- and to give them printed-out copies of Tesla's "how to" manual for first responders. I'm not quite sure how to contact my local fire department without using the emergency phone number, though.

For my department at least, there was a website for the local department with a "leave a comment" section. Basically sent them an email and got a very prompt response. If nothing else if you look on your local city, village, county government website they should have a non-emergency number you can use to contact them.

 

[Jdcleary]

I think this is a great idea. Living in a small community like Bella Vista, AR (25,000-30,000) I sent an email to the fire chief and he responded welcoming the information and my offer to bring my Tesla in.