Hyundai America Technical Center hosted an extrication training session for local firefighters earlier this week at its Safety Test and Investigations Laboratory in Superior Township, Michigan, according to an April 17 announcement. The event was designed to educate emergency responders on the hazards associated with automobile crashes and provide guidance on safety protocols during accident responses.
This training is significant because it prepares first responders to handle complex situations involving new vehicle technologies, such as electric vehicles, which may present unfamiliar risks at crash sites. It also aims to improve community safety by equipping firefighters with practical skills tailored to modern automotive designs.
Michael Cox, manager of Environmental Health and Safety and Security at Hyundai America Technical Center, said, “Proactive training efforts with emergency response personnel is a valuable experience that improves accident site safety. Not only do we strive to provide peace of mind to our customers with our SmartSense suite of advanced safety and convenience technologies, we also help to educate and provide resources to emergency responders through trainings such as this and Emergency Response Guidebooks specific to Hyundai vehicles. Each crash situation includes numerous variables requiring quick action and assessments. Having the opportunity to practice extrication steps in a safe, test environment furthers the safety of all involved.”
Dan Kimbal, fire marshal for Superior Township Fire Department, said the hands-on experience was unique: “The opportunity to work with Hyundai in a realistic training environment provided Superior Township and Ypsilanti City Fire Departments the first of its kind training on all electric vehicles. The training provided firefighters with hands‐on experience for the types of vehicles they see on today’s roads. We usually do extrication training on old junk cars at a junk yard. Training at Hyundai gave us the ability to improve our extrication techniques providing more safety to the community with new electric vehicles.”
Ben Michajlyszyn, director of STIL at Hyundai Motor North America added: “We are pleased to offer our state-of-the art safety investigation facility to our community emergency first responders… Our vision of enhancing vehicle safety and quality through in-house root cause analysis and information gathering will continue to foster a safety-first culture both internally and externally.”
The laboratory opened in September 2024 as North America’s first OEM-dedicated field safety center supporting issue identification and resolution for customers.
Globally, Hyundai Motor Group has introduced initiatives like ‘A Safer Way Home,’ featuring unmanned firefighting robots deployed in hazardous environments; campaigns highlighting assistive technology for injured soldiers; as well as hydrogen fuel cell support buses for firefighter recovery.
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