Alternative Auto Fuels: Dangers ?

[Dr. Zuki 1]

How much more dangerous than conventional gasoline are these other auto fuels such as ethanol, natural gas, vegetable oil, etc? Have Police and Fire Dept's been trained yet for potential jobs ??

What were the dangers with Hybrid car fires mentioned months back ?

Thank You.

[TRUCK6018 50]

I'm not certain of dangers of ethanol or vegetable oil. With LNG and LPG (Liquefied Natural Gas and Liquefied Petroleum Gas) you need to remember that the tank is most often localed in the trunk, not underneath like a conventional gasoline tank.

Hazards associated with hybrids vary:

1) You don't know if the car is "running" or not. With hybrids when the vehicle is stopped, so is the engine. If the vehicle power switch is on, it could take off unexpectedly.

2) The are two batteries in hybrids. There's the conventional 12 volt battery under the hood for the instrumentation, lights, etc., and a high voltage battery usually located in the floor of the trunk or back of the rear seat for the engine. There is no disconnect for this battery. The high voltage wire that runs from the battery to the engine is bright orange.

Ron Moore writes numerous articles on hybrids and alternate fueled vehicles. I recommend reading any of his material on the subject or sit in on one of his lectures.