Firefighters have an arsenal of kit for tackling modern vehicle blazes
WHILE companies such as Fire Investigations UK often take the lead when trying to find out the cause of vehicle fires, the fire brigade is typically first on-scene.
Peter Sealey, watch manager at West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, gives some insight into the process firefighters go through when dealing with car fires.
“When we were only dealing with petrol and diesel engines, we normally used to bring two personnel with breathing apparatus on their backs and a hose,” Sealey explains. “But now we’re seeing more hybrid and electric vehicles on the road.”
Alternative-fuel vehicles have something of a reputation for burning in a vigorous and violent way, but fire crews have pretty much cracked the problem. That’s partly because manufacturers are obliged to supply ‘rescue sheets’, detailing where highvoltage wires are located, and how batteries can be safely shut off.
These rescue sheets and other technical details can be accessed via a mobile data terminal (see Issue 1,632), which can give crews information such as where to cut a car safely when removing its roof while avoiding airbags, for example, allowing them to deal with emergencies as safely as possible.
Extinguishing technology has also evolved, Sealey continues. “We’ve now got various ways of fighting a car fire,” he says. “From a dry powder extinguisher to a compressed air foam system which uses very little water – we can put a jet on from up to 25 metres away.”
One of the worst types of car to deal with, though, are ones that have been converted to run on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) using a DIY kit. “Manufacturer LPG vehicles are really good, because they’ve got thermal release valves and other safety systems, so they’ll vent off,” says Sealey. “What we say to the crews is to set up cordoned areas and just let the fuel tank vent off, because eventually it will release everything. We’ll only ever have to put that out if there’s a risk to nearby property or something else.
“One problem we do have, however, are DIY kits. They obviously don’t come with the safety systems, and they can be like a bomb. If we know there’s no life risk involved and it’s a car with a DIY LPG kit on it, then we set cordons and just make sure everybody’s clear if it does go bang.”
“We’ve got various ways of fighting a car fire, from dry powder to a compressed air foam system which uses very little water”
Peter sealey West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service