irefighters are being extra cautious when they work to cut people free from wrecked vehicles these days because of the dangers found in electric cars.
Electric vehicles have high-voltage cables that run through them and a high-powered battery. Piercing either one could cause serious injury or even death, according to Tesla’s emergency first responder guide.
“That’s the major concern. You don’t want to cut through them if they are still energized because it can damage the tools and obviously cause … injuries,” said Daniel Gaudet, president of the Fire Service Association of Nova Scotia.
To get hands-on experience removing people from vehicles, most fire departments in Nova Scotia practise on old vehicles they get from junkyards, but electric cars are so new, few of them have been scrapped.
