Putting Out (EV) Fires

Training is held for emergency responders fighting EV fires

While we celebrate new technologies and the way they can afford to make our world a better and safer place. We must also acknowledge the risks that sometimes come with the same new technologies. In the same way that there were no automobile accidents before the rise of automobiles, there were no electric vehicle fires before the recent rise in technology (not counting the earlier models from the 19th century). That’s why, recently, the Greater New Haven Clean Cities Coalition and the Capitol Clean Cities Coalition came together to offer fire safety training for EV fires.

According to the release 24 first responders from around Connecticut attended the first of three EV safety trainings on June 17th. The kickoff training was held at and in conjunction with the Connecticut Fire Academy in Windsor Locks.

Topics covered included An introduction to HEVs/EVs, basic electrical concepts and hazards; HEV/EV vehicle types; Batteries and systems; Initial response actions – including vehicle identification, immobilization and disabling procedures; Extrication operations; Battery breaches; Vehicle submersion; Vehicle fires; Post incident handling of vehicles and incidents involving charging stations; Connecticut specific responses, including best practices documents for EVs, fixed energy storage and micromobility devices as released by the Commission on Fire Prevention and Control.

Paul Norwood, director of training at the Connecticut Fire Academy, said in the release electric vehicle fires present a unique challenge to firefighters. “Electric vehicles have hit the market so quickly and the technology is also changing so quickly, it’s very hard for the fire service to keep up with those changes so we can be prepared for any instance,” Norwood said.

In separate reporting by the CT News Junkie, they noted a single instance in Hamden where a new all electric transit bus caught fire spontaneously. While no one was hurt, it was a difficult process to put the fire out, and was allowed to “burn out” away from other vehicles. Unlike non-electric vehicles – which you might remember carry gallons of flammable liquids just to run – EVs batteries cannot be cooled off and managed in the same way that a gas fire can just be put out.

Of course, this isn’t to say that we should halt the adoption of a new technology. In fact, EVs are often safer in crashes precisely because they are less likely to catch fire. According to Kelley Blue Book, data shows that 25 out of every 100,000 EVs caught fire over a certain period, while 1,530 gas powered cars caught fire in the same period. But that doesn’t stop the risks associated in the rare case that it does. Our local firefighters need to be prepared, and it’s better to learn now, than to wait for 2035 when all gas-powered cars will not be sold in the state.