GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — As the popularity of electric vehicles continues to grow, the Green Bay Metro Fire Department is adding tools to its trucks to help crews respond to the hazards associated with E-V crashes and fires.
The new tools were made possible by a grant from AAA’s Auto Club Group Foundation.
It was just days ago when an electric vehicle spontaneously combusted in Massachusetts. Battery fueled fires, like these, according to firefighters are the hardest to put out.
According to Green Bay Metro Fire Department Chief Matthew Knott, “What we know is that a regular vehicle fire we have to extinguish it at approximately 500 gallons or less of water, so basically what’s on our apparatus. We do know electric vehicle fires that if the battery is involved that we’re going to expect to use 4,000 or more gallons of water.”
The 4,000 gallon estimate is on the low end.
And while the Green Bay Metro Fire Department has yet to find itself fighting an electric vehicle fire, it knows it could happen.
Now, thanks to a more than 15-thousand dollar grant from triple-A, Green Bay Metro is adding two new pieces of equipment to help crews in those type of emergency situations.
“Tools like these help us maybe eliminate those hazards in the first place or definitely allow us time to get set up and make sure our people are safe as possible and the public is as safe as possible,” says Chief Knott.
The first tool is a fire blanket. The chief says, “If there was a fire of any sort whether it’s a vehicle, whether it’s a scooter or any type of incident involving that, that blanket will allow us to cover the vehicle, prevent fires travel and fire spread and then control some of the smoke while we get some other equipment in place.”
The other piece of equipment is an EV plug. When firefighters respond to an EV accident or fire, they will simply insert the plug into the vehicle. It’s designed to trick the vehicle into thinking it’s being charged which activates a number of safety features.
“The 12 volt systems that power the radios and the windows are all still functioning, but the parking breaks are set, it’s put into neutral and the vehicle is generally rendered safer than what it was before,” adds Chief Knott.
Safety of the public and first responders is a top priority.
The AAA grant allowed Green Bay Metro to buy two of the fire blankets and four of the EV plugs as well as additional safety cones for all department crews.
Green Bay Metro says while other local departments have similar fire blankets, it believes it’s one of the first departments to have an EV plug.
