West Jordan firefighters now using 'fire blankets' to combat electric vehicle fires

WEST JORDAN, Utah (ABC4) -- The West Jordan Fire Department is now implementing a new piece of equipment -- 80-pound fire blankets -- to tackle potential fires from in EVs, or electric vehicles.

Studies show that electric vehicles catch fire less frequently than gas-powered cars, but when they do, it can take significantly more time and water than a typical car fire to extinguish. That's where the new fire blankets come in.

On Thursday morning, firefighters were training with the fire blankets, which are specifically engineered to tackle lithium-ion battery fires in EVs, completely covering a vehicle with it the way they would in the case of fire.

According to Owen Nuttall, a firefighter paramedic with the West Jordan Fire Department, the blankets are made with a fibrous glass material and kevlar.

Nuttall said it's important to get ahead of the curve and learn how to mitigate EV vehicle fires now, as EVs are becoming increasingly popular.

"These battery fires can burn independently without an oxygen source, so dumping water on it sometimes is ineffective. We can use thousands of gallons of water and really not be able to mitigate the fire," he said. "This blanket is going to help us cool the environment. We'll be able to deploy it over a vehicle...