Bernalillo County Fire & Rescue Vehicle Fires Standard Operating Guidelines PDF

**Brian Rose, Deputy Chief Greg Perez, Fire Chief** Purpose: This procedure identifies operational tactics for safe handling of motor vehicle fires. Scope: The scope of this guideline will be to describe best practice tactics and situational awareness issues for consideration for vehicles on fir...

**Brian Rose, Deputy Chief Greg Perez, Fire Chief** Purpose: This procedure identifies operational tactics for safe handling of motor vehicle fires. Scope: The scope of this guideline will be to describe best practice tactics and situational awareness issues for consideration for vehicles on fire or may become on fire. Definitions: **NVT**: New Vehicle Technology: Traditional vehicles run on gasoline or diesel engines. Today's manufactures are combining solar, battery packs, hybrid fuels together with combustion engines to propel vehicles in motion. These newer technologies create new hazards to firefighters that should be considered during operations. **Hazard Zone**: Any area near or around a vehicle that requires the use of SCBA and full PPE **LIP**: Life Safety, Incident Stability, and Property loss: The priority of actions considered on the vehicle fire ground. **Safety Officer**: Person designated to ensure the scene is safe, not only for the fire personnel attacking the fire, but for Law Enforcement and the public. **ERG**: Emergency Response Guide: Department of Transportation hazardous materials guide to assist emergency responders with recommended tactics to suppress a fire, and secure or mitigate hazardous materials used to power an engine or carried in bulk form. **DOT Placard:** Department of Transportation hazard placard system designed to assist first responders with hazardous identification of products stored in bulk inside a shipping container when being transported on US roads. Placard is used in conjunction with ERG. General Guidelines: This practice is to be used when responding to any vehicle that is on fire. **If the vehicle is reported to be on fire and inside an enclosed structure, the alarm response may be upgraded to 1^st^ alarm structure fire response**. Incident Command will be established with priorities: - **LIP: Priority model** - Life Safety: - Determine if there is a savable Life Threat that must be mitigated inside or around the vehicle. Offensive Strategy is appropriate. - Where patients are trapped in the vehicle, first water should be applied to protect the patients and permit rescue. - Safety Officer: On extended scenes, one firefighter may be designated as the safety officer ensuring personnel are all wearing proper PPE, SCBA, and have a safe space to attack the fire without concerns of traffic entering the Hazard Zone. - Incident stability: - If no Life Threat is detected, then stabilization of the property on and around the vehicle that is on fire will be the focus. A defensive strategy is appropriate. - Scene safety to include oncoming traffic, hazardous materials, overhead power lines, and NVT. - Protection of exposures limiting fire spread - Property Loss: - Vehicles that are on fire inside the engine or passenger compartment space will be damaged beyond repair. - Limiting exposure loss is priority Specific procedures - The positioning of the engine on the Interstate, or a busy highway should be in a shielding position to support the safety of the crew - Scene size-up with clear communication of determined resources needed to include a water source, haz-mat (use the ERG), law enforcement, and additional engines for extrication or suppression. - Rapid patient triage if able to make contact. - Always check for near-by vehicles or structures, overhead wires, or the proximity of other first responders or spectators that may require pulling a second line for additional protection - The NFPA recommends that, as a minimum, the initial fire attack flow should be at least 125 GPM. This is a minimum.  This amount should be easily provided by a 1-3/4\" preconnected handline. Cool the vehicle from a distance first.  Use fog if needed as you move closer. - If it is an engine or rear compartment fire, the first attack team should attack the fire 45 degrees at an angle toward the front or rear of the vehicle.  Firefighters should not get themselves in a position in front of a 50 pound bumper that can explode outward around 200 feet. - In the event of a fuel spillage you do not want that fuel agent progressing down the hill toward the firefighters.  If at all possible, attack the fire from the uphill position. - When opening up the engine compartment, open it up from the side of the vehicle without getting yourself in front of the bumper and be cautious of exploding tires along with ruptured fuel tanks. - Remember after opening the hood or trunk of a vehicle, use an axe, pry bar, halligan tool, etc. to make sure the hood does not close on a firefighter during overhaul of the vehicle. - If the engine compartment is not opened or cannot be opened, the attack team should attack the fire through a wheel well or hit the front of the car through the grill area with a straight stream pattern.  This will knock the fire down until the car is opened up - If it happens to be an interior compartment fire, firefighters should work the fire from the side.  If additional firefighters are on scene, they should take on the responsibility of opening up the car whether it is an engine or interior compartment fire. - Firefighters should still remove the battery cables if possible after the fire is under control. Disconnect the **negative terminal** of the battery first. A point to consider is that batteries in today\'s cars are not only found under the hood but due to NVT they also can be found in the wheel wells, under the seat or in the trunk. - Completely overhaul the vehicle to make sure there are no hot spots left to ignite later. - Utilize the NFPA 2018 Electric Vehicle Field Guide to help identify proper de-energizing procedures, hazard points, and proper vehicle cut locations for extraction. (EVFG-18-PDF) **Hybrid/Electric Vehicle Firefighting** - USE WATER TO FIGHT A HIGH VOLTAGE BATTERY FIRE. If the battery catches fire, is exposed to high heat, or is generating heat or gases, use large amounts of water to cool the battery. It can take between approximately 3,000-8,000 gallons (11,356-30,283 liters) of water, applied directly to the battery, to fully extinguish and cool down a battery fire. - - It may take up to an hour or more to adequately cool the battery compartment before release to secondary responders. - One side of the vehicle may need to be lifted in order to apply water to the battery area. - - - - The use of a Thermal Imagery Camera is recommended to monitor battery temperatures during the cooling process. Continue to use water until the battery has reached ambient temperatures or below, indicated by the thermal imagery camera. - When utilizing a thermal imaging camera, allow enough time, once the application of water has stopped, to allow for heat within the battery to transfer to the battery enclosure. - During fire extinguishing, do not make physical contact with any high voltage components. - If firefighting efforts are being hampered by location and/or poor access, the incident commander may switch to a defensive operations and allow the battery components to burn out while protecting exposures. - There must be no fire, smoke, audible popping/hissing, or heating present in the high voltage battery for at least 60 minutes before the vehicle can be released to second responders (such as law enforcement, vehicle transporters, etc.). - Battery fires can take up to 24 hours to fully cool. After suppression and smoke has visibly subsided, a thermal imaging camera can be used to actively measure the temperature of the high voltage battery and monitor the trend of heating or cooling. - During the tilting process of towing, the vehicle shifting may result in re-ignition of the fire. Suppression units should remain on scene until vehicle is fully secured to the flat bed tow truck. - Advise tow company the the vehicle must be stored in an area free of combustibles of at least fifty feet in all direction for a period of at least 24 hours. References: