The federal mandate requiring Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to submit Emergency Response Guides (ERGs) in ISO 17840 format to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will begin January 1, 2026 for electric-powered passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses. This will provide access to information regarding the safe handling of battery, hybrid, and fuel cell electric vehicles in emergencies, as well as for towing and storing operations.
ERGs contain in-depth vehicle-specific information related to fire, submersion, leakage of fluids, towing, and storage of vehicles. Rescue sheets are also available.
A rescue sheet is an abbreviated version of the emergency response guide that gives quick information about a vehicle’s construction, intended for use by responders at the scene of a crash.
🔗 https://www.nhtsa.gov/emergency-response-guides
On the website, you can filter by vehicle make and model to view emergency response guides and rescue sheets for battery-electric vehicles (BEV), hybrid-electric vehicles (HEV), plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles (PHEV) and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV).
Why does it matter?
With the increasing prevalence of EVs on the road, firefighters face unique challenges, such as managing high-voltage systems and battery-related fire risks. This website will serve as a critical resource for firefighters to quickly identify, disable, and stabilize EVs during emergencies. This comprehensive access to vehicle-specific data, including historical EV files transferred from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), empowers firefighters to operate safely and effectively, reducing the risk of injury or death when addressing EV-related incidents.