By LISA NICELY

nicely@crescent-news.com

They're both a godsend and a headache in a crash.

Those new safety features in vehicles can be a lifesaver in a traffic crash, but they can also be a problem for emergency personnel trying to get victims out of a vehicle.

"All these advances, while it makes it more difficult for us to do a rescue, really do reduce injuries and loss of life," said Randy Shaffer, coordinator of the Antwerp EMS and director of the Paulding County Emergency Management Agency. "It's a bit harder on us, but it's worth it."

Many emergency personnel are discovering they need to know a lot more about vehicles involved in crashes, especially when it comes to safety features. For example: Side air bags mean high pressure carbon dioxide cylinders built into door frames. Hybrid cars have high voltage cables in doors that don't shut off when a car's engine is off. Those cables can deliver as much as a 375-volt shock. There's also the fact that many vehicles have plastic bodies that bend differently than older models.

"We keep an eye out for gas cylinders and some of that hardened steel we can't cut through," said Eric Flory, chief of the Jewell Volunteer Fire Department. "Fiberglass skin on the outside makes it harder for us to pull and push. On the older vehicles they were built like tanks and we could pull and push against them for things. We have to have more knowledge on how to do that."

Shaffer said that his department has completed some training using DVDs that companies produced to learn about avoiding carbon dioxide cylinders or electrical cables in some cars.

"We have to make sure we don't' get involved with that during an extraction," he said. "The biggest thing we're told to do now is to pull plastic off the doorways and try to find these things before we start cutting into them.

Shaffer noted there are companies that make software for laptop computers which provides information on safety features, "but I don't know anyone who has that" software.

At South Richland Volunteer Fire Department, Firefighter/EMT Tom Rath said emergency personnel are always on the lookout for the vehicle safety features that may hinder their rescue efforts.

"I have yet to see them," he said. "It's hard to keep track of what all different vehicles have, but we have to make sure we check the dash for the airbags and make sure the side bags don't go off while we're working. ..."

Napoleon Fire Chief Robert Bennett said he's expecting to face new challenges when newer vehicles are involved in crashes.

"Is it coming? Yeah," he said. "The hybrid cars are a little different. Because of the high voltage attached to them, they are more difficult to deal with. You have to use a little different placement when using the hydraulic rescue tool.

"Air bags in general caused us problems when they first came out, but slowly and surely we're getting around them," he noted.

Bennett said it doesn't matter if safety features cause emergency personnel some small problems as long as the features help motorists in a crash.

"Air bags single-handedly saved more lives in the U.S. than other safety features we've mandated to people," he said.

Some automotive companies have been working with emergency officials and hospitals to learn what safety features are needed. General Motors, OnStar and the University of Michigan Medical School began conducting a study of vehicle crashes in September 2007. Information collected from first responders and hospital staff included the type of collision, any injuries and how well restraint systems worked. The study in ongoing and is funded for two years.

"There is enormous life-saving potential in what we could learn from having real injury data that we can compare with data from a real-world crash," Beth Lowery, GM vice president of environmental, energy and safety policy, said in a statement about the study. "This is an example of GM's commitment to continuous safety before, during and after a crash."