EV Fire Blankets Explained: What They Do and When They’re Used

Electric Car Fires: How Bridgehill Fire Blankets Help Improve Fire Safety

Electric vehicles (EVs) have transformed the automotive industry, offering lower emissions, reduced running costs, and quieter, more efficient transport. As their popularity continues to grow, so too does the need for greater awareness of the unique fire risks associated with lithium-ion battery technology.

The good news is that electric vehicle fires are relatively rare. Studies have consistently shown that EVs are no more likely—and in some cases may be less likely—to catch fire than petrol or diesel vehicles. However, when a battery fire does occur, it presents challenges that differ significantly from those of a conventional vehicle fire.

Lithium-ion batteries contain a large amount of stored energy. If a battery is damaged, overheated, or experiences an internal fault, it can enter a process known as thermal runaway. This chain reaction causes battery cells to rapidly release heat and flammable gases, producing an intense fire that can be difficult to control. Even after flames appear to be extinguished, batteries can reignite hours or even days later, requiring continued monitoring by emergency services.

One of the most notable examples of the challenges posed by EV fires occurred in 2022, when the cargo ship Felicity Ace caught fire while transporting around 4,000 vehicles across the Atlantic Ocean, including a number of electric vehicles. The fire burned for several days before the vessel ultimately sank, resulting in the loss of the ship and its cargo. While investigators have not conclusively determined that an electric vehicle caused the fire, the presence of lithium-ion batteries was widely reported as a factor that complicated firefighting efforts because of the intense heat and the challenges associated with battery fires.

Incidents like this highlight why businesses, emergency responders, fleet operators, workshops, ports, ferries, and car parks are increasingly reviewing their fire safety procedures and investing in equipment specifically designed to help manage lithium-ion battery fire incidents.

Understanding Electric Vehicle Fire Risks

Electric vehicle batteries are engineered with multiple layers of protection and undergo rigorous testing before reaching the road. Despite these safeguards, collisions, manufacturing defects, battery damage, charging faults, or severe impacts can, in rare cases, lead to a battery fire.

Unlike many conventional vehicle fires, lithium-ion battery fires can:

• Produce extremely high temperatures.
• Reignite after appearing to be extinguished.
• Generate significant amounts of smoke and hazardous gases.
• Require extended cooling and monitoring by emergency services.
• Spread rapidly to nearby vehicles or structures if left unmanaged.

Because of these characteristics, the primary objective during the early stages of an incident is often to contain the fire, protect surrounding assets, and create safer conditions for emergency responders.

How Bridgehill Fire Blankets Help

Bridgehill Fire Blankets are designed to assist in managing vehicle fire incidents by covering the vehicle and helping contain flames, heat, and smoke. While they are not intended to replace firefighting operations or extinguish a lithium-ion battery fire on their own, they can play an important role in limiting the impact of an incident until emergency services take over.

When deployed correctly, a vehicle fire blanket can help:

• Reduce flame spread to nearby vehicles and buildings.
• Help contain smoke and airborne particles.
• Create a protective barrier around the burning vehicle.
• Limit fire escalation while emergency services respond.
• Reduce the risk of secondary damage in confined spaces such as car parks, workshops, ferries, and tunnels.

Looking back at incidents such as the Felicity Ace fire, specialist containment equipment demonstrates why preparedness is so important. While it is impossible to say how any individual piece of equipment would have affected that specific event, fire containment blankets are designed to help isolate burning vehicles, reduce the spread of fire to surrounding assets, and provide firefighters with greater control during the initial stages of an incident. In environments where vehicles are stored close together—such as ports, ferries, and vehicle transport operations—having equipment capable of helping contain a fire can form an important part of an overall emergency response strategy.

Supporting Emergency Preparedness Through Training

Effective fire safety equipment is only as valuable as the people using it. Recognising this, Bridgehill also offers dedicated training blankets.

These training models allow organisations to practise deployment techniques repeatedly without using operational blankets intended for real emergencies. This enables teams to become familiar with:

• Safe deployment procedures.
• Team coordination.
• Correct positioning over different vehicle types.
• Faster response times during genuine incidents.

Regular training helps build confidence and ensures personnel can respond quickly should an emergency occur.

Protection for Pallet Trucks and Warehouse Operations

The growing use of lithium-ion batteries extends beyond passenger vehicles. Electric pallet trucks and warehouse equipment are now widely used across logistics, manufacturing, retail, and distribution centres.

As battery-powered material handling equipment becomes more common, so too does the need to prepare for the associated fire risks.

Bridgehill has developed fire blankets specifically designed for pallet trucks, providing organisations with a practical solution to help contain fires involving battery-powered handling equipment.

These blankets can help:

• Reduce the spread of fire within warehouses.
• Protect neighbouring stock and equipment.
• Minimise disruption to business operations.
• Support emergency response procedures while awaiting the fire service.

For facilities storing valuable inventory or operating around the clock, having dedicated containment equipment can form an important part of an overall fire safety strategy.

A Valuable Addition to Your Fire Safety Plan

No single product can eliminate every risk associated with lithium-ion battery fires. However, combining robust emergency planning, staff training, and specialist containment equipment can significantly improve preparedness.

Bridgehill Fire Blankets provide an additional layer of protection for organisations operating electric vehicles, vehicle workshops, charging facilities, warehouses, logistics centres, ports, ferries, and public parking areas. Whether protecting an electric car or a battery-powered pallet truck, they offer a practical means of helping contain incidents, protecting surrounding assets, and supporting emergency responders.

As electric mobility continues to expand, investing in appropriate fire safety solutions is becoming an increasingly important part of responsible risk management. Equipment such as Bridgehill Fire Blankets enables organisations to be better prepared for the rare but challenging incidents that lithium-ion battery fires can present, helping to reduce the potential impact on people, property, and business continuity