Euro NCAP has launched Euro Rescue, a new app that helps emergency responders to understand the construction of a vehicle to help safely remove occupants following a collision.

The app contains manufacturer rescue sheets, which provide all the crucial information rescuers need to carry out occupant extrication quickly and safely.

This includes the location of components, such as airbags and pre-tensioners, high-voltage electrical cables and batteries; all of which could present a hazard to trapped occupants and to the rescuers themselves.

Pierre Castaing, president of Euro NCAP, said: “As planned in our 2020-2025 roadmap published in 2017, Euro NCAP has added tertiary (post-crash) safety in its 2020 rating. This euro rescue application, the result of joint work between manufacturers, fire and rescue services and Euro NCAP, is the first visible result of the progress that can be made in terms of tertiary safety; others are to come.”

The app, which is available across Europe including the UK, was developed in conjunction with The International Association of Fire & Rescue Services (CTIF), and can be downloaded freely on Android and iOS.

It can be used both online and offline, allowing rescuers to access the information even when there is little or no network coverage at the scene of the crash.

For all cars assessed from 2020 onwards, Euro NCAP will verify the content and share ISO-compliant rescue sheets and emergency response guides for new energy vehicles, via the new app.

Matthew Avery, director of research at Thatcham Research and Euro NCAP board member added: “The Euro Rescue app is a life-saving innovation. Crucially, it will save first responders vital seconds in the ‘Golden Hour’ following a traumatic injury, during which there is the highest likelihood that prompt treatment will prevent death.

“Vehicles have become increasingly complex, with the advent of different construction materials and the continued march towards a purely electric car parc. This has made the task for emergency services attending the scene of an accident, in terms of quickly understanding how to safely extricate an accident victim from a vehicle, all the more challenging.

“Recent events have shown the importance of protecting the people who save our lives in emergency situations. The Euro Rescue app will give essential clarity to first responders who face several dangers at accident scenes, helping them to avoid cutting into hidden side and curtain airbags or cabling connected to high voltage batteries.”

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