South African motorists are expressing a keen interest in hybrid and electric vehicles; a trend that’s been boosted by the country’s recent hosting of the Formula E in Cape Town. With this in mind, it’s critical that South African mechanics get to grips with the technology, ensuring they are able to respond to any emergency that may arise.
This is why RMI recently coordinated a training initiative ahead of Formula E, to address firefighting challenges around e-mobility. Forty members of the Western Cape Disaster Management Centre attended the training, which is part of a larger intervention – known as ‘Join the Porsche Ride’ – currently being rolled out around the world by Porsche AG. A member of RMI executives also attended, along with representatives from MIWA and SAMBRA.
The training took place over four sessions and was hosted by experts from the Porsche fire brigade in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. Participants learned more about the technical specifications of electrical vehicles, as well as how to safely disconnect high voltage components in electric vehicles and extinguish high voltage battery fires, making sure they were able to handle any emergency that may arise.
