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Fire department briefs council on electric-vehicle fire risks, new response equipment and parking-deck tactics
Summary
Chief Dobson briefed council on EV-fire differences and department preparations — including a fire blanket, a compressed-foam 'mule' for parking-deck response and high-rise pack training — and urged building design choices like sprinklers and charger placement near exits to reduce risk.
Woodstock's fire department told the City Council on Aug. 18 that electric-vehicle fires present different challenges than internal-combustion fires and described steps the department has taken to respond.
"EV fires are less common, but they're more complicated of an event," Chief Dobson said, citing thermal-runaway risks, potential for reignition and toxic smoke and runoff. He described the department's tactics for enclosed facilities, including deploying a fire blanket to reduce ambient temperature, using a Kawasaki "mule" equipped with a 30-gallon compressed-air foam system to fight vehicle fires inside parking decks, and carrying high-rise packs so crews can operate on foot where apparatus cannot fit.
Dobson reviewed statistics presented to council (sourced in briefing from NFPA and an EV Firesafe database) and noted that EV fires can be long-duration events requiring large volumes of water and special attention to runoff and air quality; he said the department had one EV fire in the prior year's response set that was tied to a collision and not to a battery failure.
The briefing included recommended design measures for parking structures: sprinklers and standpipes, locating charging stations near exits to facilitate vehicle removal, and preplanning for rapid vehicle removal. Staff said they trained inside the new parking deck before it opened and carried out live burns during training to test blankets and tactics.
Next steps: The department will continue preparedness training and coordinate with building owners and planners on placement of chargers and sprinkler/standpipe connections.
Source: Woodstock Fire Department briefing, Aug. 18, 2025.
