VIDEO: Itโs happening more and more – electric vehicles catching fire, which can be particularly stubborn and dangerous to get under control. Now, thanks to a $2,500 grant from E-470, Aurora Fire Rescue can purchase multiple fire blankets to help contain EV fires.
โEverybody is looking at them at this point and time. Whether they can actually afford them โฆ thatโs why the grant is so nice,โ said Paul Shoemaker with Aurora Fire Rescue. โNow we can afford something we couldnโt afford before.โ Since 2018, Shoemaker has seen an uptick in EV fires. โThe main challenge thatโs happening is the amount of water it takes to put this vehicle out. Then, how fast they burn, how fast that fire spreads into the vehicle,โ he said.
Fire crews saw the problem firsthand back in March when they responded to a deadly crash involving a Tesla. The EV sustained battery damage and entered thermal runaway, immediately catching fire. Crews had to let it burn out for nearly six hours. They say itโs a tactic that can always be used depending on resources.
Shoemaker said, โIt is hard as a firefighter, where we train our entire lives to pull a hose line, and pour water on something. We want to make the dramatic, immediate impact. Therefore, sitting there and watching something burn for six hours is hard for us not to want to do something additional.โ
