When residents called emergency services about a car crash in Eden in the early hours of January 26, most might not have been aware the vehicle was completely electrified and a mortal danger to approach.
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The Fire and Rescue NSW 286 unit from Eden attended the scene at 6.15am and found the vehicle on fire, however they were unable to begin extinguishing the vehicle due to it having crashed into an electricity pole that had three thick power lines running down it.
Fire and Rescue Eden station commander Zlatko Nemec said he and his team had made a quick risk assessment when they arrived and found that the vehicle was electrified.
"Anyone that would have tried walking up to the vehicle or put a jet of water on it would have been electrocuted," he said.
Mr Nemec said they had to wait until Essential Energy had travelled from Bega, turned off the power and given the go ahead before they were able to proceed.
"In that situation we couldn't do a snatch and grab, we had to wait until Essential Energy had turned the power off - luckily no-one was in the vehicle," he said.
Mr Nemec said if a firefighter had attempted to extinguish the fire with a jet of water, they would have been electrocuted and the outcome would've been fatal, as the vehicle was electrified with 415 volts.
"We made sure to pulsate the water to avoid any electrical charge following the stream back to the fire fighter," he said.
Mr Nemec said if the moving car hadn't hit the electricity pole, it would have likely gone over the cliff.
"If it went off the cliff then we would have used our drone to assess the incident," he said.
Mr Nemec said their drone was equipped with camera thermal imaging that could pick up on body heat and help determine if someone was trapped in the vehicle.
"It's also got speakers, lights and everything like that so we can actually speak to someone who's in the vehicle," he said.
Mr Nemec's takeaway message from the incident was to urge people to contact triple zero (000) immediately after witnessing an accident and not to wait as it takes time for all the necessary emergency services to arrive.
Amandine Ahrens
I've grown up in the Bega Valley and I'm a regional daily news reporter on the Far South Coast of NSW. Got a story? Get in touch: 0436 426 843 or email amandine.ahrens@austcommunitymedia.com.au
I've grown up in the Bega Valley and I'm a regional daily news reporter on the Far South Coast of NSW. Got a story? Get in touch: 0436 426 843 or email amandine.ahrens@austcommunitymedia.com.au
