That is a good point and is something that all rescue personnel should be aware of.I have extensive knowledge of the hybrid vehicles(escpecially the Ford Escape and Mercury) since I am a certified Ford salesperson and specifically certified in Hybrid technology. I kind of made the hybrid my little pet project since I felt that the market would see a sharp increase in hybrid sales with the oil prices as of late.
I noticed a couple of things that I felt I should comment about that was mentioned in the MSN article. First, MSN mentioned that some of these systems generate as much as 650 volts of electricity and that 650 v. "could kill you". Well, sure that is true, but did you know that 10 v. could kill you just as easily? Yep thats right. It only takes a few volts of electricity to stop the heart. You see, contrary to popular belief, it is not voltage per say that will kill you. It is the Amperes, and it depends on the current circumstances how many Amperes any source will "draw". Think of Volts and Amperes like this....
The Volts are the vehicle that drives the gunman(Amperes) to the post office.
So, keep common rescue precautions in mind and a little common sense and you will have no more to worry about than with a 12V system.
Also, these systems are charged by....any guesses? The brake system. I know that sounds rediculous , but the energy generated by the rotors and brakes during braking is converted to electrical energy. I mention that simply to tell you to keep this in mind if you are on a call and for some reason find yourself fiddling with a wheel bearing or calliper fire.
Lastly, the batteries (on the Ford atleast) are located in the very back of the vehicle and are recessed into the floorboard just as u open the rear hatch. They are also enclosed in a casing that is "supposed" to retain their structural integrity in rear end collisions up to 45 mph. Time will tell on that one.
Hope this tiny bit of info helps. Good luck and be safe ya'll!
