NFPA Receives Grant from G.M. to Train Firefighters to Fight EV Car Fires

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By Catherine Dorrough

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has received a $225,000 grant from General Motors to train volunteer and underserved U.S. fire departments to fight electric vehicle fires.

“While firefighters have had more than 100 years to learn how to handle incidents with internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, they’ve had very little time to understand and train for those involving EV and hybrid vehicles,” said Andrew Klock, emerging issues lead manager at NFPA, in an association news release. “As electric vehicles increasingly dominate our roads in the coming years, ensuring that fire departments are adequately trained and equipped to deal with them is critically important.”

According to NFPA data, about two-thirds of U.S. fire departments are served by part-time or volunteer firefighters.

NFPA will coordinate with U.S. fire service organizations and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Cities Coalition to reach out to target audiences to maximize participation in the NFPA Electric Vehicle Safety training program, which will be provided online at no cost for one year, according to the release.

According to analysis by AutoinsuranceEZ, hybrid vehicles have the highest chance of catching fire, at 3,474 fires per 100,000 sales. Gas vehicles come in second at a rate of 1,529 per 100,000 sales, and electric vehicles take a distant third at 25 fires per 100,000 sales.

The analysis also found that hybrid and electric vehicle recalls were all related to battery issues. According to their report, “Because EV batteries are essentially their own fuel source, they can burn for hours and be extremely difficult for firefighters to cool down. Even when an EV fire appears to be out, it can reignite, which is why it’s so important for firefighters to be trained in putting out fires in the new hybrid and electric vehicles that are being manufactured.”