Electric vehicle (EV) technology is in its infancy in SA. Everyone could benefit from education on the subject, including those in the emergency response sector.

Sascha Sauer, head of Audi SA, said it was important for first responders and rescuers to be trained in dealing with EVs safely in extreme situations such as accidents or if they catch on fire.

“We got in touch with the National Disaster Management Centre and found  they have never been offered training in the technology, notwithstanding that EVs have been sold for 10 years by some of our competitors in the country.”

“We took over the responsibility and offered training free of charge to first responders,” said Sauer.

In May, Audi completed training for 70 first responders from the SA National Fire and Emergency Services at its dealer training academy in Pretoria. They will train teams across the country, part of its “train the trainer” programme.

The training covered the handling of EV accidents, awareness of features, technicalities of charging and battery operations and safety guidelines of handling an EV when compared to an internal combustion engine.

How common are EV fires?

Continue reading here: https://www.timeslive.co.za/motoring/features/2022-06-15-what-happens-to-your-ev-in-a-crash/