Three Lake Andes Firefighters attended a one-day electric vehicle training class in Garretson on Friday, August 23. Fire Chief, Rod Bergin, Jeremiah Freidel and Jacob Wenzlaff attended training that focused on electric vehicle fires and accidents. The SD State Fire Marshal’s office had distributed the training flyer to fire departments throughout the state and when the Lake Andes Fire Department heard about it decided there was a growing need in the area for this type of training.

The training class was put together by the South Dakota Professional Towing Association; the Highway Emergency Responder Training (HERT) also helped sponsor the training as well as paid the registration fees for the department. The class gave a comprehensive overview and training on all electric and alternative fuel vehicles for both towing professionals and first responders. The training covered topics such as fire, extrication, towing, jump starts, environmental issues along with computer overrides. There were 25-30 participants that attended the training from various departments.

With there being more and more electric vehicles in the Lake Andes area as well as traveling through the area, the Lake Andes Fire Department thought it was important to learn how to handle electric vehicles fires and accidents. Fire Chief Bergin would recommend the training to anyone who in their professional or volunteer capacity might be called to these types of fires or accidents. The information that was learned at the training will be shared and presented to the rest of the firefighters in the Lake Andes Volunteer Fire Department. In addition to classroom training, there was a hands-on portion where attendees were able to practice on and view demonstrations with an electric vehicle. There are new/specific types of equipment that is needed in order to be able to properly handle any electric vehicle fires and accidents. These pieces of equipment include different personal protective equipment/ gear as well as electrical meters to check for stray voltage around and in the vehicle. The Lake Andes Volunteer Fire Department is looking to make this training an annual event.