From Tesla to Prius and everything in between, electric vehicles or EVs will only become more and more common on the road. In turn, firefighters are preparing to tackle potential EV emergencies.
On a hot July day, four RCFD firefighters sprinted up the multi-level parking structure at the Pennington County public safety building. With the glass magnifying the sun, their boss says it’s like a sauna in that stairwell - but the heat isn’t top of mind for them.
This crew, and all of the Rapid City Fire Department, are learning how to put out fires in electric vehicles – whether they’re parked on the street or up four stories on a 100-degree day.
RCFD operations lieutenant Mark Raderschadt said an EV fire is its own beast.
“Our electric vehicles have the battery pack in the bottom portion of the vehicle – down low, closest to the ground – because they’re very heavy so it keeps the center of gravity low," Raderschadt said. "The batteries are where we seem to see the problem, if the batteries get damaged in some way, that’s when those cells will start to have a heat runaway issue.”
That means in certain vehicle models fire crews may have only a few inches of space to attack a rapidly growing battery fire.
Training section lieutenant Roy Kottwitz said during debriefing crews must be prepared to get up close and personal with an intense fire.
“Be thinking about maybe what do you need to lift that vehicle up a little bit to get under it if it's only this high off the ground?" Kottwitz said, referencing the low clearance on some electric vehicles. "Let’s say you’re on vacation and you’re not around - a handyman jack in the wheel well. I mean, be thinking about it. Those cars are heavy.”
The training mission saw the crews attack a simulated EV fire from the point of receiving the call, to water coming out of the hose.