Shoreham Vehicle Auctions (SVA) has donated a Nissan Leaf to West Sussex Fire and Rescue to support its firefighters’ EV education.

Michael Simmons, SVA’s operations director (centre) with West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service’s Matt Whatley, watch manager – operational training (left) and Jason Hancock, van engineer.

The 10-year-old electric car will play a key role in training the service’s firefighters on how to deal with EVs safely when they are involved in a road traffic collision.

“Currently there are no standards in place to manage an EV when it has been involved in an accident, so practical training sessions with a real car are invaluable,” according to Matt Whatley, watch manager – operational training at West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service.

“We are attending more collisions involving EVs as the number of cars on the road continue to rise. The Nissan Leaf allows our firefighters to put their training into practice and keep drivers and colleagues safe in the event of a road traffic collision involving an EV.

“Everyone involved in a collision, including the vehicle recovery agents, need to know how to safely manage a damaged EV. They need to be safely isolated, which is where practical training comes in extremely valuable. We would like to thank Shoreham for its donation,” he added.

SVA managing director Alex Wright is encouraging companies in the car industry to consider gifting an EV to their local fire service.

“West Sussex was very grateful for our donation, and Matt thought it was the only service in the country with a real EV to use to carry out practical training. We are encouraging OEMs, dealers, leasing companies and rental companies to consider gifting an EV to their local fire service,” said Wright.