First responders are learning about buses to ensure public safety when responding to accidents and incidents involving OC Bus
ORANGE – The Orange County Transportation Authority held a recent training for local fire and law enforcement agencies to help first responders understand potential hazards involving OC Bus vehicles and components when responding to incidents.
First responders arriving at the scene of incidents involving a bus may not always have information on how to operate the vehicle. This includes how to control the doors to get inside, disabling the engine and shutting off the fuel and high voltage systems. The sharing of this knowledge makes it possible to get ahead of any potential risks.
Maintenance Training Manager Michael Tingley and Instructor Pat Courchaine of OCTA’s maintenance training team help familiarize first responders with the systems on OC Bus. Approximately 60 firefighters, including several fire captains and battalion chiefs, attended a recent training exercise to demonstrate how different vehicle components operate.
OCTA operates over 500 buses including compressed natural gas, hydrogen fuel-cell electric and plug-in battery electric. Each of these buses were on display during the recent training.
Tingley and Courchaine covered various training topics including door controls, parking brakes, fuel and battery shutoffs, fire suppression, gas detection and interlock braking systems, high voltages in the hydrogen and battery electric buses and hydrogen fuel hazards.
Since 2012, OCTA’s maintenance training team has delivered trainings to more than 20 Orange County Fire Authority stations, Orange County Sheriff’s Department personnel, Transit Police Services deputies, numerous city police agencies, the U.S. Marshals Service, FBI, and Buena Park, Downey and Bakersfield SWAT teams.
The team continues to evolve its training for first responders as OCTA remains at the forefront of incorporating new technology on buses and transitioning to a 100% zero-emission bus fleet by 2040.
Photo attached: Firefighters pose with OCTA buses during a training on Feb. 24, 2023, to help ensure they can safely respond to incidents involving a bus. Photo courtesy of the Orange County Transportation Authority.
