Errington Fire Department are looking to add several blankets designed to quell electric vehicle fires. (Errington Fire Department)

By Alex Rawnsley

vehicle fires

‘Another tool in our toolbox:’ Errington Fire Department looking to add special blanket to firefighting arsenal

Aug 27, 2023 | 5:17 AM

ERRINGTON — A local fire department is hoping to add more specialized equipment to aid in their response to vehicle fires involving increasingly more electrical components.

Spurred by a rise in hybrid and electric vehicles, the Errington Fire Department is actively fundraising in the community to purchase several “EV blankets”, a large coated fabric to help control and douse battery and other fires.

George Klemm, assistant chief with the department, told NanaimoNewsNOW vehicle fires are often challenging with a mix of materials and fire fuel sources, made more complicated by larger batteries on hybrid and electric vehicles made recently.

“It’s another tool in our toolbox and it allows us to do some protection of exposures we might not be able to do otherwise. If we had a vehicle up against a building and we were concerned about the building, we needed to control the fire, we could put the blanket over top and that will control the fire.”

It typically takes four or five firefighters to install the blanket over a burning car, but can buy valuable time.

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Klemm said crews would then tuck the blanket underneath the car as best they could and let the fire burn. The fire would eventually reduce to a point where it wasn’t an immediate threat, or largely extinguished by itself.

He added anything to help firefighters deal with challenging situations is welcomed.

“[Vehicle fires are difficult because of] people involved normally around them and that sort of stuff, you’ve got exposures and the general public to look after. It’s also the component, the tires which create a huge amount of heat…airbags, passenger restraint systems…fuel tanks and all of their changes they’ve gone through over time.”

The blankets come in single-use, but the slightly more expensive multi-use blankets allow for up to 24 deployments, according to Klemm.

They come at a cost of around $5,000 each.

“We’d like to see a blanket on all of the first out engines and we’re making good headway on that. We have some money now and we’re half or three-quarters of the way there.”

Donations can be made to the Fire Hall at the corner of Errington Rd. and the Alberni Hwy. or by contacting them over the phone.

Klemm added more EV’s also saw the department buy what he called a “disabling tool” which can be plugged into a car’s charging port, forcing the vehicle to think it’s in charging mode.

This takes guess work out of a situation involving different makes and models for firefighters unsure whether a vehicle is in park or drive.

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