Did You Know This Is The Best Way To Put Out An Electric Car Fire?

With electric vehicles becoming increasingly prominent and available for purchase, the question has turned to how emergency responders will handle emergencies that involve an electric vehicle rather than one that runs on fuel. Last night at the Saint Augusta City Council Meeting, there was a discussion about this topic and some insight into dealing with an electric vehicle fire.

During last night's City of Saint Augusta Council meeting, a request for a fire blanket was made by the fire department. The blanket, as it was explained, would be placed on the fire truck in case the department encounters an EV fire within their response area.

Some of the council members engaged in discussion with Chief Kramer about what the best practices are for dealing with an EV fire, and it was quickly determined that smothering the fire with a big blanket was the best way, rather than pumping thousands of gallons of water or using fire fighting foam that can contain chemicals that aren't safe for the environment or people.

According to NBC Washington:

Studies show electric and hybrid vehicles catch fire less frequently than gas-powered cars, but when they do, the fire can take hours and tens of thousands of gallons of water to extinguish — unique challenges for firefighters.

The downside of these fire blankets for EVs is that they are, from how the conversation went last night, one-time use blankets, as the blanket will stay with the vehicle once the fire department is done putting out the fire.

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Maybe with time, there will be better ways of dealing with an EV fire, especially as we are starting to see more of them on area roads, but for now, you'll need a fire blanket to put out an EV fire.