GM expands electric vehicle first responder training efforts in Canada and U.S.

July 5, 2022, Canada – GM is expanding its efforts to educate public safety, fire and emergency service providers throughout Canada and the United States as electric vehicles (EV) become more prevalent.

The company’s latest EV First Responder Training program will focus primarily on personnel in fire services, providing instruction and sharing of best practices on how to support emergency situations involving electric vehicles.

GM’s EV First Responder Training effort is an education and outreach program designed to offer emergency responders key information about battery electric vehicle technology and share important industry best practices for handling electric and electrified (hybrid) vehicles safely in multiple situations.

This program will be divided into both live presentations and other training formats, including combinations of expert presentations, videos, animations and virtual demonstrations.

The NFPA has led its own education efforts around electric vehicles with 300,000 first responders and estimates there are more than 800,000 additional members of the first responder community still requiring further training.