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Fire chief urges limits on EV chargers in underground or under-occupiable parking decks
Summary
Homewood Fire Chief Broadhead asked council to start drafting an ordinance to restrict EV charging stations in underground or under-occupiable parking decks (including under City Hall), citing firefighting limitations and gaps in current codes; staff will work with the attorney and send a draft to planning commission.
Chief Broadhead told council that electric-vehicle battery fires behave differently from gasoline fires and that the department lacks effective tools and code guidance to extinguish EV fires in confined, under-occupiable parking decks. He said open-air decks are less risky because smoke can dissipate and aerial devices may reach vehicles, but enclosed decks beneath occupied buildings pose a life-safety concern.
"The fire code is not caught up with it yet," Chief Broadhead said, urging the council to begin a conversation about restricting charging stations in underground parking under occupiable space. He asked staff and the city attorney to draft an ordinance and take it to the planning commission so public hearings can proceed.
