What Emergency Crews and Consumers Should Know about Hybrid Vehicles Involved in a Crash

TIME & DATE: 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., Thursday, March 2, 2006

LOCATION: 2006 Cleveland Auto Show (East Lobby) at the I-X Center

WHAT: 'Hybrid Vehicles, First Respondents Seminar II'

CLEVELAND, March 2 -- More than 300 first responders from local fire departments and emergency medical technicians (EMT) from northern Ohio's communities will learn standard operating procedures for hybrid vehicles involved in an accident.

With an ever-growing market and sales of hybrid vehicles, many issues have been raised how EMT units and first responders -- including hybrid owners -- should approach an accident involving a hybrid vehicle to avoid potentially harmful electric shocks from high-voltage batteries.

For some answers to those questions, the 2006 Cleveland Auto Show is hosting a safety conference "Hybrid Vehicles, First Respondents Seminar II," sponsored by the Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers' Association.

Kenneth Buie, the primary presenter, is program coordinator, Stark State College Automotive Technology. Also presenting is Fred Bertram, Department Chair Stark State College Fire Science and captain in the Canton Fire Department.