Chris Volpe Photos
Area first responders attended a special training session on electric vehicles at the Michael E. Grant Regional Fire School off of Ella Grasso Boulevard.
The session took place Saturday morning. Jason Emery, a battalion commander from Waterbury and a member of the National Fire Protection Association spoke about how to handle the unique aspects of fires in electric vehicles, a growing problem for first responders.
The event was sponsored by Greater New Haven Clean Cities in collaboration with the CT Fire Academy and the National Fire Protection Association. Why? “Electric vehicles require specific fire extinguishing procedures, and there is currently a nationwide training gap for first responders dealing with electric vehicle fires, especially electric school buses. In addition to the growing popularity of electric cars, school districts have also begun implementing electric school buses in Connecticut. This week, DATTCO was awarded $33 million by the Clean School Bus Program to expand their fleet of electric buses in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Government initiatives and incentives will accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles, and our first responders must be well-prepared and aligned with these upcoming changes.” The session covered “essential insights into HEVs/EVs, as well as post-incident handling of vehicles and incidents involving charging stations.”
Mark Kasinskas of Cheshire examined underneath the bus.
Hugh Kline of Wallingford examined an electric bus’s engine.
A variety of electric cars were examined as well.
Bill Kupernick of Windsor Locks checked out the engine of a Chevy Bolt.
Karamo Kourouma of the EV Club of Connecticut looked over a Tesla with Adam DellaVentura of Wallingford.
This is scary. A little research shows that the recommended way to fight a fire in an EV is to jack up the car and hit the battery with water from beneath (not sure that I would be excited about that as a firefighter). Also, once the EVs go into thermal runaway, they create their own heat and ignite the other cells. Not much you can do at that point. Houses getting burned down b/c of EVs in the attached garage.