Hydrogen Fuel Cell Training

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The HAMMER (Hazardous Material Management and Emergency Response) Training and Education Center in Richland, Washington is well known for training emergency responders in new technologies. Recently, HAMMER personnel took that training on the road for the first time, to teach several classes to firefighters about hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen used in industry.

At each stop, they taught for three days and each day began with the classroom portion, with one leading instructor coming from the California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCP). "We're teaching them about the properties of hydrogen and it's use in a fuel cell vehicle, specifically," stated Safety & Education Specialist for California Fuel Partnership, Jennifer Hamilton.

Instructors spoke about the technology of the vehicle, how it is powered, what the systems are and how they are not that much different from a regular combustion engine. According to Jennifer Hamilton there is not much different about fuel cell vehicles than some of the alternative fuel technologies already seen on the road today.

Instructor and Captain James Bryan with the Hanford Fire Department explained, "Fuel cell vehicles are just basically a combination of technologies that already have been in common deployment. They kind of combine things like hybrid vehicles and some properties of compressed natural gas vehicles. There's a lot of concern when you mention hydrogen. It's been 75 years plus, but the image of the Hindenburg comes to mind and it's a completely different type of technology so it doesn't really have the same hazards."

Captain Doug Dodge with the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) expressed, "Tactically, if we start treating them, all the cars, the same that you shouldn't get into trouble but it's good reminder that things are changing underneath us pretty quickly." With new airbag technology, techniques had already changed. "We're not rushing into the cars the way we used to. I think it would be pretty easy for most of the fire department to change to make fire attack or even rescue on these cars," added Doug.

HAMMER is also speaking to firefighters about hydrogen fixed facilities. Dennis McCall, Program Manager of HAMMER, claimed that there are hydrogen facilities all across the country where there is potential for fire and other accidents to occur, however, a very low potential. Industries are also converting forklifts to hydrogen fuel cells. HAMMER wants to train not only for fuel cell vehicles, but other hydrogen systems as well.

Fire Engineer Brad Jarrell, also with the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) stated, "Being on the Haz-Mat team it behooves us to get ahead of the technology and prepare for this, and hopefully we can train people in the department." 

Once the classroom portion of the lesson is completed, firefighters go outside to view a live fire prop and learn exactly what happens with a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, including what it sounds and looks like. James Bryan explained that the whistling sound that comes from the vehicle is gas exceeding the speed of sound as it comes out and creates turbulence. As the gas vents off, the sound will incrementally decrease. Bryan added that hydrogen has a very low radiant heat, therefore, it will not present a significant hazard.

"The liquid fuel that's going to be on the ground that will be on fire will be more inclined to drive us back away from where that hydrogen is burning than the hydrogen fire itself,"  remarked Bryan. Since the flame is not visible, looking through a thermal imaging camera shows where the heat of the flame is. During the demonstration, certain areas were cool enough for him to put his hand near without recoiling from the heat.

Bryan claimed that the biggest hazard for firefighters will be other fuels and plastics located inside of the vehicle. There will also be a high voltage line running through the car, so firefighters should first disconnect the 12 volt system. "That disables both the flow of hydrogen from the high pressure cylinder to the fuel cell and it also opens the circuit for the high voltage system, and that disables any flow of electricity and should make the vehicle safe for most responders," said Bryan.

Many agencies in different states have shown great interest in these classes. For more information about HAMMER training, visit www.hammertraining.com.

The California Fuel Cell Partnership also offers classes for emergency responders. For information visit  www.cafcp.org.

Contributors to this story:
Barbara Brooks - Video Report
Ann Zevely - Camera/Editor
Renee Marquart - Text



Author:B. Brooks, A. Zevely, R. Marquart