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Alternative and Hybrid Vehicles
Authors' Note: Since this site was developed in 2009, much has changed regarding the design and market share of alternative and hybrid vehicles. The authors have updated materials used for in-person trainings, but not yet developed them for this site.
Traditionally, road vehicles have been powered by an internal combustion engine fueled by spark-ignition gasoline or compression-ignition (diesel) engines. When we refer to “Alternative Vehicles” in this course we address all vehicles with drive systems that incorporate fuels other than gasoline or diesel, and use motive power from some means other than (or in addition to) internal combustion engines.
Passenger, commercial and utility vehicles powered by propane (liquefied propane gas or LPG) or compressed natural gas (CNG) have been retrofitted for use with conventional engines for decades. Still, the presence of manufacturer-produced vehicles with alternative drive systems and fuels is relatively new in the United States. The technologies for these vehicles are evolving quickly and the numbers on the road still relatively small. We have little real-world experience to discuss the fire investigation of alternative vehicles, but reports on the subject are now being published.
Hybrid cars and SUVs are currently manufactured and sold by Toyota, Honda, Ford, General Motors, Daimler-Chrysler and others; with US sales of about 175,000 vehicles in 2005 (1% of total sales) [1,2].
The designs are diverse as companies innovate to find the most efficient effective designs. To support the increasing popularity of these vehicles, there is a growing body of literature regarding the fire safety of vehicle occupants, fire service personnel, and occupants of residential and commercial structures in which alternative vehicles are parked.
This section covers types of alternative vehicle fuel and drive systems.
References
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