The amount of electric vehicles (EVs) taking over our roadways have increased at a very rapid rate and fire departments need to be ready when the inevitable fire in one of these vehicles starts. According to the US department of Energy and New Jersey’s Electric Vehicle Act 2020, the number of EVs hitting the road in the state will increase tenfold over the next three years, from the current 30,420 to over 300,000. This increase will bring the amount of EVs in New Jersey to 25% of all registered vehicles by 2026 (Recurrentauto.com, 2022). These vehicles can lead to a very unique fire situation, especially if their lithium ion batteries are the reason for the fire. If your department doesn’t think or plan for an EV fire in your jurisdiction, you will be behind the eight ball when the fire occurs.
There is a new piece of firefighter equipment to extinguish these fires, but we must first understand the mechanism of the fire and the concern for its advancement. The biggest issue for these fires is due to the lithium ion battery, which powers the EV. “Lithium ion batteries, when involved in fire, burn hotter than your regular vehicle fires. Their “thermal runaway” is a phenomenon in which the lithium ion cell enters an uncontrollable, self-heating state” (Underwriters Laboratory). When the thermal runaway starts, it will cause extremely high temperatures, smoke, and fire and can ultimately result in ejection of gas and shrapnel or particulates to violently eject from the power cell. They can also start spot fires near the area of the vehicle and ignite other combustible sources. A sure sign of thermal runaway will be a blow torch type event taking place from under the vehicle, where the batteries are stored. It will also sound like a high pitched whistling noise that may start and stop over and over again, which is the sound of batteries off gassing. If you’re fighting an EV fire and extinguishing all the vehicle combustibles with a hand line, but notice fire is still blowing at a forceful rate below the vehicle and you hear a high pitched noise, you should assume that lithium ion batteries are involved.
We have to adjust our tactics to extinguish these fires, especially if the lithium ion batteries are the reason for the fire. Most of us already know that a single 1 3/4” hand line and a tank of engine water will not do the trick when lithium ion batteries are involved because they burn with or without oxygen. These fires may require a prolonged operation involving an established water supply and master streams to keep the batteries at bay to reduce thermal runoff. One piece of equipment that has already changed the way most European fire departments fight EV fires is the “Bridgehill Fire Blanket Pro X.” Yes, you read that right, a fire blanket! And not the kind that most of us use at the station to make our racks. If you would have told me 20 years ago, when I first started my career, that we would have a “blanket” to assist us in fighting fires in electric vehicles, I wouldn’t have believed you. This new piece of equipment will help us contain these fires until the batteries burn out or we can submerge them in dumpsters filled with water. It is easy to deploy, by simply putting the blanket over the vehicle and tucking the ends under.
In a normal vehicle fire situation, deploying the blanket as a tactic would put the fire out by eliminating the oxygen from the area by smothering the fire. As we all learned in Firefighter 1, remove one part of the fire tetrahedron, and the fire goes out. When it comes to lithium ion batteries, they will continue to burn with or without oxygen, that is what makes EVs with lithium ion involvement so dangerous. The blanket would be used to suppress the fire, decrease heat in the area, and contain the flames from possibly spreading to other vehicles in the area or a structure that a vehicle may be parked near. A master stream, or any of the new fancy EV fire nozzles, can be placed under the vehicle and under the blanket to continue to cool the batteries while the blanket keeps the flames at bay. It may take hours before the thermal runaway stops and even longer if other battery cells begin to burn.
Now that we understand the necessity for additional ways to fight this fire and the reasons why the blanket would be appropriate, we must talk about the blanket itself and how to use it. The fire blanket, purchased by our Chief in Perth Amboy, is the Bridgehill Fire Blanket Pro X (You have to love the cool names they always give new products on the market to grab us firefighters’ attention). The blanket is made with a heavy duty material that is made to withstand flames and heat. In fact, this blanket is marketed to be reused for up to 30 car fires. 30 EV fires? Not sure about that, but 30 regular car fires. It is about 20 ft by 26 ft and weighs about 60 lbs. It is stored in a case, which can be stored in a large compartment on any fire department rig. Once removed from the case and opened, it can easily be deployed by two firefighters (in full PPE and on their SCBA of course). The firefighters should cover the vehicle completely, tucking the excess blanket under the vehicle. Before placing the blanket, you can place a master stream or specialized nozzle under the vehicle to ensure water is still cooling the battery cells. The blanket will then stay on as long as it needs to until thermal runaway stops and the fire is completely out. It is recommended to tow the vehicle on a flatbed with the blanket still on so that if the batteries reignite in route or at the tow yard, the blanket will keep the flames and heat suppressed. Remember that the initial damaged battery cell may be out but another may begin to thermal runaway due to the damage sustained from the initial cell fire.
As of today, the entire Perth Amboy Fire Department has received training on the Bridgehill Fire Blanket and it is sitting on our Engine waiting for its first EV fire. It will certainly not be the first tactic used when coming across these types of fires, but it is a tool in the tool box that we can use to get these fires suppressed, contained and extinguished.
For more information about the fire blanket check out the website: https://bridgehill.com and the Perth Amboy Fire Department Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/perthamboyfire/ for a video demonstrating how quickly it can be deployed.
Photo from shift training at Perth Amboy Fire Headquarters
Photo from shift training at Perth Amboy Fire Headquarters