West Virginia State Fire Academy instructors will receive training on Feb. 28 and March 1 that will provide the curriculum and materials they need to teach first responders statewide how to respond to accidents involving alternative fuel and electric drive vehicles. The First Responder Safety Training is being conducted by the National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium, a program of West Virginia University. It is part of a nationwide training program to help remove first responders’ concerns about their ability to safely respond to emergency situations involving alternative fuels, alternative fuel vehicles and electric drive vehicles.

The two-day workshop is being provided as part of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency Fire Prevention and Safety grant to the NAFTC. WV State Fire Academy instructors will learn what they need to know to instruct emergency personnel throughout the state about alternative fuel vehicles and how to respond at an accident scene, especially when involving extrication. The First Responder Safety Training consists of four modules, including biofuels and biofuel vehicles, gaseous fuels and gaseous fuel vehicles, hydrogen and hydrogen-powered vehicles and electric drive vehicles.

“Alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles are the future of transportation,” said Bill Davis, NAFTC acting Director. “These next generation vehicles will reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil and help keep our air clean.
“Because alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles are becoming more prevalent and will continue to increase in popularity, first responders must understand the differences between these cars and trucks and conventional, gasoline-powered vehicles,” Davis added. “This First Responder Safety Training project provides a proactive approach to keeping emergency personnel and the citizens they serve safe.”

The NAFTC first began its First Responder Safety Training program in 2005 and has been instrumental in the training of thousands of firefighters and other first responders since.

This First Responder Safety Train-the-Trainer course is being provided as part of a Federal Emergency Management Agency Fire Prevention & Safety Grant. The First Responder Safety Training for Alternative Fuel and Advanced Technology Vehicles project is managed by the National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium, a program of West Virginia University.

The NAFTC, a program of West Virginia University, was founded in 1992. It manages education and outreach programs and activities, develops curricula, and conducts training on subject matter related to alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles. The NAFTC works with universities, community colleges and high schools around the country to develop training programs for dissemination at the local level. The organization consists of approximately 50 National and Associate Training Centers that use its curriculum and training materials.

The NAFTC is also the developer and coordinator of National Alternative Fuel Vehicle Day Odyssey, the largest nationwide promotion and education event for alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles.

-WVU-

02/27/13

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CONTACT: Judy Moore, National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium
304-293-7882 (office), 304-669-4870 (cell); Judy.Moore@mail.wvu.edu