FOI 1855 - Electric vehicle fires

After looking into the push we are getting from government to move to battery electric vehicles, I have also looked into the environmental impact which appears to be staggeringly bad for battery production. However it appears there is an impact in that a small percentage of these vehicles can ignite with there being little chance of extinguishing the fire as the chemicals burn with out oxygen.

Could you please comment on the dangers of this and how many of these vehicle fires Cheshire fire brigade have had to deal with and what special measure have you put in place for this.

Nationally, incident recording does not currently report on the fuel type of vehicles.

 In relation to firefighting tactics , Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service follow National Operational Guidance as laid out by the National Fire Chief’s Council.

Information can be found at ukfrs.com

 With regards to environmental considerations, our incident commanders will liaise with partner agencies such as the Environment Agency and always seek to minimise environmental impact via a risk assessment.