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| www.chargingmyev.com |
Now that 2013 has rolled in, charging stations and the EV infrastructure
are still being put into place in some cities and then there are cities that
are established with multiple charging stations placed on city streets. In the
midst of having charging stations installed with ribbon cutting ceremonies,
news media, and city and county officials posing for photo opportunities; our emergency
responders are being forgotten. We have contacted multiple Fire Departments across
the country and each fire chief expressed their concern for the safety of their
firefighters. This issue is not just with our first responders; there are
State, City and County officials that are just as concerned and now are concerned
for the safety of the public.
Accidents such as vehicle strike, vandalism, catastrophic
accidents, flooding or other weather related issues puts the general public at
serious risk of injury or electrocution. Some stations carry as much as 430 volts/60
amps and do not take much for an accident to occur. Charging Stations without
bollards or other safety devices such as curbs can increase the chance of being
struck by a vehicle or object. Charging stations that have been struck or
vandalized can put a passer-by at serious risk of electrocution if not reported immediately.
Because of the lack of funding due to budget cutbacks; fire
departments cannot afford the necessary training on EV charging station safety
and while funding was provided to the NFPA for the electric vehicle safety
program, there are no plans for funding for electric vehicle charging station
safety. Recently, Greenstar Concepts LLC
partnered up with clean city coalitions across the country in order to educate
emergency responders and city and county government on the inherent dangers
associated with these appliances. Numerous safety concerns have been discovered
by Greenstar and have also been brought to the attention of several agencies in
the Federal Government such as the Department of Energy, Homeland Security,
NFPA and the US Fire Administration, to name a few.
Greenstar has taken a unique approach to their program by
hiring retired fire chiefs, former military and safety experts as instructors. “Our
fire chiefs can relate to our target audience and are familiar with the dangers
they face in the field” said Greenstar President James Maddox. The Department of
Energy awarded out $11 million dollars in the last round of funding for the
program and some of the recipients are Clean City Coalition and are plans have been set to
use the funds for emergency responder training.
The electric vehicle charging station safety program
educates responders on scene assessment, power termination, proper scene
security, notification procedures and much more. Currently there are no such reporting programs
or communication programs amongst multiple agencies in city and county
government. Most Fire Departments are not part of the charging station
installation process and some cities are creating a process to include multiple
agencies once a permit is issued to install a charging station.
Greenstar
provides a full 3.5 hour program that covers current issues involving charging stations
and we provide complete robust hands on program for our attendees.
To learn more about Charging Station Safety go to: www.chargingmyev.com
