Photo: South Metro Fire Rescue Centennial, Colorado | YouTube
This is the blanket that changes everyone's perspective on EV fires. A fire department in Colorado is already using it. The firefighters managed to extinguish an electric Jaguar that had caught fire while charging in the garage of a home and prevent the battery from reigniting.
The fire alarm of the home in Centennial, Colorado, went off at 7:40 AM on January 10. The house soon filled with smoke coming from the garage. One of the family's cars, a 2019 Jaguar I-Pace, had caught fire while charging. The family safely evacuated the home and dialed 911.
When firefighters from South Metro Fire Rescue Centennial arrived at the scene, they noticed flames inside the garage and a massive amount of smoke coming out of there. The crew first took measures to prevent the fire from extending into the house.
The burning Jaguar I-Pace was towed out of the garage into the driveway with the help of a Ford F-150 and covered with a special blanket after firefighters noticed that the lithium-ion battery was still burning and posing a great risk to everyone and everything around. It wasn't just the hazard of a new blaze they were trying to eliminate, but also the very toxic smoke coming out.
There was also a hybrid car inside the garage. That one, a Hyundai Tucson, also sustained damages from the fire. As a precaution, firefighters also covered it in a fire blanket to avoid its battery igniting later on.
Photo: South Metro Fire Rescue Centennial, Colorado | YouTube
They were both loaded onto tow trucks and escorted by the Arapahoe County Sheriff to a salvage yard in Parker, Colorado. They will stay there until the temperature cools and there is no fire hazard whatsoever. There is a huge risk that, after the fire is put down on an EV, the battery reignites, and fire engulfs the cars once again.
No one was injured in the incident. An investigation is underway, but there is information that might help authorities. A second recall was issued on the I-Pace last year, claiming that the battery pack can overheat and cause fire.
The fire blanket that the firefighters used in Centennial is an innovative method to put out the EV blaze. Sometimes, the EV on fire is submerged in water to make sure that the burning battery of the car on fire cools down. But that solution takes time and a large amount of water, which may not be available at the scene. Furthermore, the water has to be discharged in special locations because the large amount of chemical energy contaminates it.
The ground-breaking blanket weighs 62 pounds (28 kilograms), and it takes at least four people to put it on the vehicle. It puts out the fire by cutting the supply of oxygen from the batteries and dissipating heat.
Such blankets, used as a fire suppression and mitigation tool, can cost between $3,000 and $5,000, depending on their size.
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