CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – More electric vehicles, or EVs, are popping up on the road. Because of this, firefighters in Albemarle County are doing extra training to know what to do if an EV catches on fire.
“We’re trying to be proactive instead of reactive,” said ACFR Captain Cody Gillispie.
Captain Gillispie says firefighters in the county are working to be better equipped to handle electric vehicle fires.
“One of the pushes in Albemarle County is to go green. And unfortunately, we do have issues with the lithium batteries at times,” said Gillispie.
Electric vehicles have battery packs that are filled with more than two-thousand lithium batteries. All it takes is one battery to have a problem for the entire battery pack to become dangerous.
“The three ways that lithium battery can go into thermal runaway or have issues is from thermal damage, mechanical damage, and in manufacturing defect,” said Capt. Gillispie.
If the battery does catch fire, Capt. Gillispie says it takes a lot to put it out.
“They are very difficult to extinguish especially the EV vehicles because where the location of the batteries are underneath,” said Capt. Gillispie.
Along with more training, the fire department now has other devices to help them in these situations.
“It takes copious amounts of water to put out a lithium fire. One way we are to combat that is with the fire blanket,” said Gillispie.
With lithium batteries in so many places, Albemarle County Fire Rescue is reminding people to be safe.
“Lithium batteries are everywhere down to your cell phones to little pocket flashlights. The biggest thing is if you have a lithium battery that is off gassing or getting hotter or beginning to start on fire, get out,” said Capt. Gillispie.
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