New safety features and other technologies in vehicles are forcing emergency responders to be more creative when extricating accident victims.

Web sites such as www.firehouse.com cite a number of examples of fire departments having difficulty using their existing tools to cut into vehicles that use new, stronger types of steel. Increasingly popular hybrid cars also pose a shock threat when they’re cut, since they use high voltage as part of their power.

In fact, on many 2005 and newer vehicles, extrications that once took 10 to 15 minutes now take twice that long or more, according to an Associated Press report.

Locally, upgraded equipment and training on the problem has prevented a major problem in Warren County, said Cmdr. Jim Morrow with the Bowling Green Fire Department. The department is contracted by The Medical Center to handle extrications throughout the county, though all volunteer fire departments within the county can also perform them.

“I remember with the equipment we had when I first got here, it was hard to cut anything,” Morrow said. “With new vehicles, it would be very difficult to cut with the older equipment.”

New safety precautions that have made vehicles safer for motorists have also made them more difficult to cut apart, he said. He noted one way to avoid having to cut hard steel posts is to cut directly into the roof using v-cuts to void the posts.

One of the advantages the Bowling Green Fire Department has is that it frequently upgrades its equipment to meet new standards, he said. The fire department also uses a Sawzall, which has a special blade that can cut through most metals.

Besides, Morrow said, the department hasn’t dealt with too many wrecks involving newer cars.

Bob Skipper, chief of the Woodburn Volunteer Fire Department, said his department hasn’t faced problems with vehicles that are tough to cut into, adding that the department doesn’t handle that many extrications, and most don’t involve newer model cars.

Still, firefighters continue to educate themselves about potential issues with various vehicles.

“All extrications require a bit of creativity,” Morrow said.

BGFD Sgt. Melvin Norris said one of the keys when cutting a vehicle is to try to avoid cutting steel beams as much as possible, focusing instead on cutting bolts.

Another issue is an increasing use of air bags, which contain pressurized gas canisters.

“Those are very dangerous if you just cut into them,” Morrow said. “We now often strip the plastic inside of the vehicle so we know we’re not cutting into airbags.”

Airbags have even forced departments to adjust where they cut a vehicle, he said.

“We used to cut as low on the posts as possible,” Morrow said. “Now we try to cut as high as possible.”

Cutting low was designed to get as much mangled steel as possible out of the way for the rescue, but it is now safer to cut high and avoid airbags.

Where hybrids and their high-voltage threats are involved, most auto manufacturers issue guides on how emergency responders can avoid the high voltage, Morrow said.

There is an obvious upside, of course: With newer vehicles being made stronger and safer, people are surviving accidents they might not have a few years ago, Morrow said.

— The Associated Press contributed to this story.