Fire Department Celebrates Using An EV Fire Blanket

Firefighters in Granite Falls, Washington are celebrating after they used an EV fire blanket to help extinguish a blaze. While that seems very cutting edge, not everyone in firefighter circles is convinced these devices are helpful, with some believing they can actually be harmful to fire crews.

Gas prices have dropped to a four year low.

The single-vehicle fire happened on the morning of March 16. While we don’t know how the electric car caught fire, be it a crash, road debris, or something else, we do know the only person inside got out and away from the blaze in plenty of time, avoiding injuries.

Answering the call for help, Snohomish Fire & Rescue arrived on the scene with a new device it’s carrying on all battalion vehicles: an EV fire blanket. Large enough to cover a whole car, they’re supposed to assist in smothering an electric vehicle fire.

But fire agency notes in a release about the blaze firefighters had to spray down the chassis of the EV, cooling the batteries after wrapping the blanket. Some would argue the water dropping the temperature is what stopped the thermal runaway.

Even after they put out the fire, firefighters followed the wrecker as it hauled the EV to a tow yard, just in case it suddenly reignited.

That brings us to the cost of EV fires for taxpayers. Not only did the fire crew have to ride behind the tow truck, costing fuel and potentially pulling those first responders away from other incidents, the EV fire blanket also isn’t cheap. Looking around on the consumer side, they seem to run from a couple grand to several thousand dollars.

Some fire departments have reusable EV fire blankets, but there’s a big debate about if and how those can be cleaned of all the toxic elements put out by the fire. It’s also worth noting all the gear firefighters wear while fighting an electric car fire also becomes contaminated, with debate about if it’s safe to use after.

In other words, EV fires are costly for any fire fighting agency to battle. Guess who’s footing the bill? That’s right, the taxpayer.

Do you think EV owners should be charged for the extra cost of extinguishing their car if it catches fire? Or should everyone pay for that?

Image via Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue/Facebook