Columbia Fire to receive blankets designed for electric car fires

May 14, 2023

Columbia Fire & Rescue is partnering with General Motors to provide up-to-date safety measures for drivers, this time by focusing on electric and hybrid vehicle fires and how to handle them.

Later this month, Columbia City Council will vote to accept a donation from the automobile manufacturer of five specialized containment blankets to be used in the event of an electric vehicle fire. Fire Chief Ty Cobb said these blankets will provide a great addition to the department, because an electric fire is something that is "not friendly to water."

"It's pretty simple, but it can be pretty challenging. These are basically blankets used to put over electrical vehicles, battery cell-type fires," Cobb said. "If there is a fire, they use these blankets to cover it, usually when it is fully involved or 50% involved. Firefighters will use these aggressively to just 'cover it and smother it.'"

Cobb added that the blankets will be stored at Columbia Fire Station 5, located near the GM Plant and Ultium electric battery facility. This will provide training in close proximity where electric vehicles are being built and manufactured.

The approximate value of the blankets is about $7,250.

Vice Mayor Randy McBroom asked, given these blankets will only be at one station, what would happen when there is an electrical vehicle fire across town and what is the likelihood of a quick response?

Cobb said his department is looking into building better response times, and that one day he hopes each station could have this equipment at the ready. For now, the first step is training his firefighters on how to properly use them.

"We plan on adding more, so you'll probably see another donation down the road. We're just not going to put them on the trucks until everyone is properly trained," Cobb said.