From cellphones and laptops to scooters and electric cars, lithium-ion batteries are everywhere.”In New York City, this year alone, we’ve had over 200 fires involving them and more than a dozen fatalities,” said Frank Leeb, FDNY’s chief of safety. They’ve become a deadly problem in larger cities and a concern locally around greater Cincinnati.”What so many people don’t know, now there’s trucks running up and down the road hauling heavy freight that are lithium-ion batteries, so there’s more and more challenges coming for us in the fire service,” said Josh Blum, program manager for Blue Card. Just last month, West Chester fire investigators said a lithium battery may be to blame for the fire at Hopewell Junior School.Other area departments have voiced concerns over electric car fires.”The battery composition makes it difficult to extinguish them using, you know, primary water that we would typically put them out, and that’s been the challenge,” Leeb said. Some local departments are now equipped with car fire blankets, a tool designed to isolate an electric car fire.”Southbound 75, where we’re at in Lockland, if the fire is between those walls, and I could put this blanket over it, in a short period of time, we can probably open the road back up and then leave it covered, get it towed off the highway and deal with it somewhere else,” Blum said.That issue is just one of many discussed this week at the “Blue Card Hazard Zone Conference” in Sharonville. It’s a conference that brought hundreds of firefighters and incident commanders together from 37 states as well as Canada, Germany and Australia.Other topics discussed include line-of-duty deaths, including cancer, which is the leading cause of death among firefighters, technical rescues and fire protection systems.The goal is for fire service leaders to walk away more knowledgeable when managing hazardous situations in our neighborhoods.”Ultimately, it is about the community,” Blum said.
From cellphones and laptops to scooters and electric cars, lithium-ion batteries are everywhere.
“In New York City, this year alone, we’ve had over 200 fires involving them and more than a dozen fatalities,” said Frank Leeb, FDNY’s chief of safety.
They’ve become a deadly problem in larger cities and a concern locally around greater Cincinnati.
“What so many people don’t know, now there’s trucks running up and down the road hauling heavy freight that are lithium-ion batteries, so there’s more and more challenges coming for us in the fire service,” said Josh Blum, program manager for Blue Card.
Just last month, West Chester fire investigators said a lithium battery may be to blame for the fire at Hopewell Junior School.
Other area departments have voiced concerns over electric car fires.
“The battery composition makes it difficult to extinguish them using, you know, primary water that we would typically put them out, and that’s been the challenge,” Leeb said.
Some local departments are now equipped with car fire blankets, a tool designed to isolate an electric car fire.
“Southbound 75, where we’re at in Lockland, if the fire is between those walls, and I could put this blanket over it, in a short period of time, we can probably open the road back up and then leave it covered, get it towed off the highway and deal with it somewhere else,” Blum said.
That issue is just one of many discussed this week at the “Blue Card Hazard Zone Conference” in Sharonville. It’s a conference that brought hundreds of firefighters and incident commanders together from 37 states as well as Canada, Germany and Australia.
Other topics discussed include line-of-duty deaths, including cancer, which is the leading cause of death among firefighters, technical rescues and fire protection systems.
The goal is for fire service leaders to walk away more knowledgeable when managing hazardous situations in our neighborhoods.
“Ultimately, it is about the community,” Blum said.