Electric vehicles carry lithium-ion batteries, which are highly flammable and can enter thermal runaway.

Once ignited, they are extremely difficult to extinguish and can reignite hours or days later.

How Fire-Ground Tactical Equipment could help

• Ground-deployed: intended for use by fire departments on land.
• Designed for wide-spray water dispersion, covering a large area fast.
• Aimed at improving suppression for vehicle and structure fires, especially

1.      Rapid Stand-Off Suppression

• Autonomous deployment beneath vehicle decks or under cargo areas offers firefighters suppression capability without entering high-risk zones.

2.      Effective EV & Battery Fire Cooling

• Delivers high-volume water flow to address thermal runaway zones, where CO₂ and foam often fail—ideal for incidents arising from lithium battery fires.

3.      Safer, Hands-Free Operation

• Reduces need for manual hose handling in restricted, toxic, or unstable environments— critical during marine deck fires or confined cargo spaces.

4.      Durable & Reusable Across Incidents

• TTRC™ can be used repeatedly in location-diverse scenarios, enhancing firefighter readiness without recurring disposable equipment costs.

5.      Bridges Training Gaps for Shoreside Responders

• Simple setup, easy operation, and tactical advantage can bolster marine fire readiness for departments with limited vessel-specific training.

Over 3,000 vehicles, including ~800 EVs, were aboard when a fire broke out, forcing crew evacuation. The blaze was uncontrollable by CO₂ suppression, and the ship sank at sea. Full financial damage is still being assessed, but salvage plus environmental response likely totals in the hundreds of millions

• The Felicity Ace, carrying nearly 4,000 vehicles (including EVs), caught fire and eventually sank, causing estimated losses between $155 million and $335 million, with some estimates topping $400 million
• The high-value cargo, largely luxury and electric vehicles, drove insurers to treat nearly all vehicles and associated cost as constructive total losses

Are you familiar with the famous Cherry Road basement fire in 1999 in Washington, D.C.? If you respond to house fires, you should be. If not, read the reports and learn how common a fire it was and how deadly it was with two Line of Duty Deaths. In summary: The fire came out of the lower floor of the row house (basement) and roared up the stairs at about 20 mph! Two firefighters were burned to death in the first floor living room (they both had hose lines) and a third had disabling burns over 35% of his body. How do we know it traveled that fast? The Underwriters Laboratory (Fire Safety Research Institute, part of UL) conducted extensive research into this fire and actually recreated the fire at a building exactly like the building at a fire training center near Philadelphia. I was fortunate enough to attend one of these live burns and what a learning experience it was.

1. Extreme Heat & Thermal Runaway
   EV battery fires can reach temperatures above 1,400 °F, exceeding those of traditional vehicle fires and even structure fires. youtube.com+15ksat.com+15grist.org+15
2. Reignition Hazard
   Batteries can self-sustain oxygen release and rekindle hours or days later, requiring ongoing thermal suppression and monitoring. news.clemson.eduInventUMctif.org
3. High Water Demand
   Containing EV fires often requires especially large water quantities (6,000–20,000+ gallons or more) to cool battery cells and prevent thermal propagation. ksat.com
4. Extended Fireground Duration & Resource Strain
   Incidents like the Chesterfield crash (4 hours) and parking garage explosion often tie up multiple crews and extended resources. FireRescue1
5. Toxic Exposure Risks
   EV fires release numerous hazardous chemicals—heavy metals, hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide—posing long-term health threats to first responders. InventUM+1FreightCaviar+1
6. Accessibility Challenges
   Fires in enclosed or confined spaces (like garages or trailers) limit firefighter access. Standoff cooling with devices like the TTRC™ reduces risk. Regrouping actions are safer using remote suppression tools.

• Immediate Active Cooling: Deploys high-volume water or mist streams to impacted zones, even remotely via window openings, perimeter exposures, or aerial vantage points.
• Hands-Free Operation: Minimizes firefighter time in IDLH environments while suppression continues autonomously—even after crews leave the scene.
• Thermal Monitoring Support: When integrated with thermal imaging or drones, TTRC™ can maintain passive cooling over hot zones to prevent relapse.
• Reduced Overall Water Use: Focused suppression avoids water waste and infrastructure damage, while limiting runoff risks.
• Enhanced Scene Safety: Keeps firefighters at safer distances while still mitigating fire spread and facilitating faster scene control.

Chevron Platform Fire – Angola (May 2025)

• A fire occurred on Chevron’s deepwater Benguela Belize Lobito Tomboco (BBLT) platform, located around 60 miles off Cabinda, Angola. The blaze injured 17 workers (four seriously); one person is missing. Three fatalities were later confirmed as two of the injured succumbed to burns. Offshore Magazine+11Offshore Magazine+11Reuters+11
• Chevron’s CEO had issued internal warnings about rising safety incidents just weeks earlier. Reuters+1Offshore Magazine+1

Song Doc Decommissioning Platform Fire – Vietnam (May 2025)

• During dismantling operations at Vietnam’s first offshore decommissioning project (Song Doc), a major fire broke out, resulting in one death and seven injuries. The fire was contained later the same day. isssource.com+4JOIFF+4Maritime Executive+4

Piper Alpha Disaster – North Sea (1988)

• The deadliest offshore platform disaster in history: a gas leak and explosion led to a fire that killed 167 workers, sank an accommodation block, burned for weeks, and caused approx. £1.7 billion in losses. It prompted sweeping oil and gas safety reforms. thescottishsun.co.uk

Deepwater Horizon Blowout & Fire – Gulf of Mexico (2010)

• A blowout caused a catastrophic fire and explosion, killing 11 workers and injuring over 17. The rig later sank, triggering the largest offshore oil spill ever. csb.gov+2britannica.com+2workboat.com+2