communiqués de presse
communiqués de presse

"Time Fighters": the story of a unique collaboration between Renault and the fire department

  • In an effort to mitigate consequences from road-side accidents, Renault entered into a unique partnership with fire-fighters across Europe.
  • It gave rise to major innovation for post-crash safety when dealing with electric and hybrid vehicles such as Fireman Access, QRescue, and SD Switch.
  • Their objective was to significantly shorten response times for first responders.
  • This and more is what Renault is covering through an international campaign showcasing the rich collaboration between Renault and fire-fighters.

30 March 2023

13 years with fire-fighters

Renault trains firefighters around the world to help them save precious time when responding to serious accidents, thereby helping reduce the number of roadside casualties.

An essential pledge to train and coach. A task entrusted to Lieutenant-Colonel Christophe Lenglos, currently on full-time secondment at Renault from the Yvelines SDIS Fire and Emergency Services. With the assistance of Claire Petit-Boulanger (Renault tertiary safety expert), they travel the world, from Paraguay to the Czech Republic, disseminating Renault's safety expertise:

  • conferences
  • rescue drills
  • real and virtual extrication drills
  • Renault vehicle donations for drills

Develop innovation with firefighters

Firefighters are involved in the car design process. A collaboration that has given rise to a number of innovations:

  • Fireman Access:

The special access can be used to spray water right into the core of high voltage batteries used on electric vehicles to extinguished fires in less than 10 minutes, compared to the 3 hours it usually takes for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles from other brands.

  • QRescue:

A QR code affixed to all Renault vehicles from 2023 onwards gives immediate access to the vehicle’s technical information (engine, battery location...). The precise location of the QR code was specifically chosen in accordance with firefighters. It helps them save up to 15 precious minutes when responding to an emergency.

  • SD switch:

The SD switch disconnects the battery from the high-voltage electrical circuitry. Its location on Renault Group vehicles is readily accessible for emergency services without needing specific tools and without having to move the pelvis area of victims still inside the crashed vehicle.
Work is being put into other innovative ideas, such as with seats.

"We are thinking about a way to modify the backrests on our seats so firefighters can easily fold them back to quickly and safely extract victims of roadside accidents. We have drafted a patent.”

Claire Petit Boulanger

These innovations help firefighters save precious time during the ‘golden hour’: the first 60 minutes following an accident during which victims need hospital care, otherwise their chances of survival decrease by 50%. The golden hour is the crux of all efforts to improve accident outcomes for firefighters and Renault alike.

‘TimeFighters: Every minute counts’ a documentary seen through the eyes of the Naudet brothers

To shed light on their precious work, Renault and Publicis Conseil are launching a global campaign on 29 March.

Publicis Conseil called on the keen eyes of brothers Jules and Gédéon Naudet (directors of the award-winning documentaries on the September 11 attacks in New York, the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris, and the fire of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris), to make the film ‘TimeFighters: every minute counts’.

For a number of days, they followed the lives of firefighters from the Montigny-le-Bretonneux barracks (Yvelines, France), showcasing the extensive collaboration between Renault group and roadside first responders.

Having always been “fascinated by firefighters and the risks they take to save lives”, the Naudet Brothers were immediately enamoured by the idea of filming their day-to-day and emergency operations, as well as the research work they do in advance to help better plan for accidents. “We were very excited when Renault contacted us to make the documentary. We discovered the relentless training put in by first-responders to save those precious minutes that are so hard to find when responding to roadside accidents. We were even more surprised to learn that Renault was the only car manufacturer in the world to include firefighters in the upstream stages of vehicle design. It’s remarkable! ”

Through the astute gaze of the Naudet Brothers, the film goes behind the scenes of the little-known collaboration between Renault and firefighters, showcasing some of the French manufacturer’s main innovations.

The film will be accompanied by a print campaign highlighting the primary figures involved in the collaboration.

A social media campaign will further explore and shed light on Renault’s commitment.

Renault now shares its progress and knowledge with all

Firefighter training tools will be on show via the #TimeFighters platform for any firefighter in the world to access.

Thought is even going into making Group innovation – such as the Fireman Access and removable seat backs – open source for all manufacturers to use.

Because saving lives is everyone’s business.

Find out more about the program at www.renault.fr/securite

Document

"Time Fighters": the story of a unique collaboration between Renault and the fire department

voir le document voir la médiathèque

Julien Cotteverte

Head of product Communication Renault

Renault, a historic mobility brand and pioneer of electric vehicles in Europe, has always developed innovative vehicles. With the ‘Renaulution’ strategic plan, Renault has embarked on an ambitious, value-generating transformation moving towards a more competitive, balanced and electrified range. Its ambition is to embody modernity and innovation in technology, energy and mobility services in the automotive industry and beyond.



Document

"Time Fighters": the story of a unique collaboration between Renault and the fire department
"Time Fighters": the story of a unique collaboration between Renault and the fire department

Renault, a historic mobility brand and pioneer of electric vehicles in Europe, has always developed innovative vehicles. With the ‘Renaulution’ strategic plan, Renault has embarked on an ambitious, value-generating transformation moving towards a more competitive, balanced and electrified range. Its ambition is to embody modernity and innovation in technology, energy and mobility services in the automotive industry and beyond.