Photo By Melissa Buckley | Fort Leonard Wood firefighters practice using one of their new electric vehicle fire...... read more read more
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FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — Fort Leonard Wood firefighters have new fire-suppressing blankets designed to fight electric and hybrid vehicle fires, and they received hands-on training with the new equipment Aug. 8 at Training Area 207.
According to Michael Drozdo, assistant chief of training for the Fort Leonard Wood Fire Department — which is part of the Directorate of Emergency Services — they are the first department in the local area to have this technology.
“Unlike their gas-powered counterparts, EVs combust differently, leading to fires that last longer and are harder to extinguish,” Drozdo said.
When EVs catch fire, they are hard to put out, according to Drozdo, because, “EV batteries are made of several individual cells, and when one short circuits, it releases its energy quickly, creating massive heat. Hundreds or thousands of cells releasing their energy simultaneously multiply that heat, making it exceedingly difficult to extinguish the flames.”
The EV fire-suppressing blankets work by depriving the fire of oxygen, suppressing open flames, lowering the temperature and decreasing smoke volume.
“With the invention of a smothering technique, it protects the firefighters and will keep the fire contained. This greatly reduces the risk of bodily harm and property damage, due to the unpredictable nature of battery fires,” Drozdo said. “It will, however, take time to suppress the fire, sometimes days.”
He explained that the EV fire suppressing blanket will not only protect firefighters from flames, but also harmful chemicals because, “EV fires can cause cobalt poisoning to firefighters on scene.”
The blankets feature a quick deployment process, according to Drozdo, and are available in several sizes for use on small cars to SUVs, trucks and large equipment, such as forklifts.
He said Fort Leonard Wood’s firefighters haven’t responded to an EV fire yet, “but that day is coming, and we want to be prepared.”
The department received three blankets, and Drozdo said he is hoping to add a fourth next year.
“Each frontline engine and our tanker truck will have these EV blankets on them. They are very expensive and can only be used once due to saturation of toxins and heavy metals. They will (only) be utilized on EV or large lithium-battery fires,” Drozdo said.
After watching the manufacturer’s video on how to use the blanket, firefighters met at their fire and rescue training site to try it for themselves.
Fort Leonard Wood Firefighter Lt. Matt Bates said he has never worked with something like this before.
“It is a unique idea on how to smother battery fires. They can be so tough to put out. Instead of using mass quantities of water we can use this blanket to take the oxygen out of the equation,” Bates said. “It was pretty simple, just like laying a blanket down.”
He said it is another tool he is glad to add to his firefighting toolkit.
“EVs are becoming more popular. A lot of the government vehicles on post are EVs now. We will need this one day, and I think it is going to come in very handy,” Bates said.
| Date Taken: | 08.08.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.13.2024 14:48 |
| Story ID: | 478496 |
| Location: | FORT LEONARD WOOD, MISSOURI, US |
| Web Views: | 34 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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