The rise in use of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) can put fire and rescue personnel responding to these calls for service at increasing risk due to a lack of understanding of how to respond to incidents involving these vehicles.
AFV fires can take hours to extinguish and require tens of thousands of gallons of water. A unique challenge for firefighters.
Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski tells WTMJ that these are some of the biggest challenges for first responders. “It’s some of the worst stuff we’ll ever encounter, there’s also an explosion hazard. Sadly, we’re starting to have to treat these as a hazmat incident.”
Chief Lipski points to the failure of consistent standards for battery manufacturers and local municipalities when it comes to battery safety, which presents an unknown situation for their firefighters. ” Our codes in the U.S. have not caught up, and unfortunately, nothing forces the codes to be caught up, better than tragedy, sadly.”
Chief Lipski joined the Political Power Hour with host Steve Scaffidi and public safety communications expert Anne Schwartz to discuss the dangerous new environment for firefighters and first responders.Â
