Firefighters from Eriksdale and Ashern underwent specialized training to respond to emergency situations involving electric vehicles recently.
Earlier this month, a few members of the Eriksdale and Ashern fire departments got together for private training on electric vehicles. The presenter has worked with electric vehicle manufacturers and now travels across Canada, sharing his knowledge. He first trained firefighters in Gimli, then went to Ashern the next day, training 65 members of 12 fire departments in two days.
Unfortunately, Manitoba falls short in offering any electric vehicle training for firefighters, leaving them with minimal guidance on how to handle such situations. Mason and Falk shared that their training was enlightening and captivating.
“We’re finding people are starting to come out of the city with electric vehicles,” he said, adding the Eriksdale school now also has a charging station for them.
Ashern Fire Department chief Ken Falk has also seen the need for specialized training.
“We know electric vehicles are coming into our areas,” he said. “It’s all about the safety because there are high voltage batteries in these. We have to make sure we aren’t electrocuting ourselves while responding.”
Manitoba doesn’t have any courses on electric vehicle training for firefighters, so there’s little to no information on how they should deal with them. Mason and Falk both said the training was eye-opening and very interesting.
Firefighters were familiarized with the structure of electric vehicles and proper procedures for handling a fire involving one. Due to the presence of lithium batteries, potential risks of electrocution and fire during these incidents are a major concern, prompting first responders to learn precautionary measures. The combustion of these batteries also emits highly toxic fumes, necessitating thorough cleaning and decontamination of firefighting gear after responding to such fires. In severe cases, replacement of contaminated suits may be necessary, resulting in a cost of $2,500 to $5,000 for the department.
In addition, they were taught the correct method of removing individuals from cars. This can vary, as the crumple zones of electric vehicles differ from those of standard ones.
“It gave us a real good eye opener on the fact that [electric vehicles] aren’t as everybody makes them out to be,” said Falk. “But they can be if you’re not careful. We may never see an incident with an electric vehicle, but if you see it and you’re not prepared for it, what do you do?”
The Ashern Fire Department has been taking many new training courses this winter and spring, extending its knowledge wherever possible.
“Knowledge is power,” said Falk.
The department recently sent Falk to become a trained safety officer, and now that he has the training, they’re training more members internally to receive the designation. They’ve also had members take fire ground management training, which is essentially on how to manage a scene upon arriving, and critical incident stress management, which prepares firefighters to support other firefighters after a stressful incident. Falk and his deputy fire chief took the training and can now help departments around the province. With critical incident stress management, firefighters have a 72-hour cut-off from when the incident occurs to when they can respond with mental help.
“I think that’s a very important thing,” said Falk. “It just shows the brotherhood that we’re never alone. When we deal with stuff like that, they say its’s a normal reaction from a normal person to an abnormal circumstance. It’s so you don’t feel alone.”
Both departments are eager to keep training and broaden their knowledge on all things fire.
