MidDoor Fire Group Trains for Electric-Vehicle Fires

Firefighters from Ephraim, Gibraltar and Baileys Harbor gather around an electric vehicle during the January meeting of the MidDoor Fire Group. Submitted.

The MidDoor Fire Group – firefighters from Baileys Harbor, Ephraim and Gibraltar – gathered at the Baileys Harbor fire station for a classroom presentation on electric vehicles and how to manage them when they’re called to respond.

Local electric-vehicle owners took in five models to provide the firefighters with hands-on learning about the particular logistical challenges that electric vehicles present when they’re involved in a crash or fire. When the lithium batteries ignite, for example, the fire produces extreme heat and involves hazards that are different from the hazards that gas and diesel engines generate.