Fighting a different kind of fire

Moose donate special to MC firefighters that will assist in battling electric vehicle fires

An electric vehicle battery fire is unlike a regular fire, and controlling an EV fire takes special equipment, such as EV fire blankets, explained Kevin McNamee, chief of the Hartfield Volunteer Fire Department.

Middlesex Moose Lodge 2401 recently donated one EV fire blanket to each of the four Middlesex volunteer fire departments including: HVFD, Lower Middlesex Volunteer Fire Department in Deltaville, the Middlesex Volunteer Fire Department in Urbanna, and the Upper Middlesex Volunteer Fire Department in Water View — four blankets in all.

These EV fire blankets can be used to cover a burning EV since a battery fire cannot be extinguished easily and essentially has to burn itself out.

Thermal runaway

An EV battery is made of many cells packed together tightly, explained Chief Kevin McNamee. EV batteries can have 2,000 to 8,000 cells, and if one of these cells fails it is like a small explosion that can generate toxic gas and temperatures around 1,200 degrees, he said. A failed cell can cause the cells next to it to fail in a chain reaction called “thermal runaway.” Thermal runaway of an EV battery is a chemical reaction that will sustain itself until all the battery and all cells are destroyed.

Defense

For these reasons, firefighters use a defensive posture for EV fires to contain and control them. An EV fire blanket will allow the fire department to cover the vehicle like an envelope, said HVFD chief Kevin McNamee. “This will help reduce the spread of fire to surrounding vehicles or exposures.” The EV blanket will also help contain the toxic gasses and fire to the covered vehicle.