Suppressing Electric Vehicle Fires Takes More Than Just a Car Fire Blanket
Electric vehicle fires are unlike anything the fire service has dealt with before. When a lithium-ion battery enters thermal runaway, it can reignite hours, or even days, after it first appeared to be out. We have seen this in several E incidents around the world. Temperatures inside the battery pack can exceed 1,000°C, and the toxic gases released are a serious hazard to both first responders and bystanders. So when people ask about electric vehicle fire suppression, the answer cannot simply be: throw a blanket over it.
A car fire blanket is a powerful and important tool. Fire Isolator produces some of the best on the market. But even we will tell you that the blanket is just one part of a broader, multi-layered strategy. Effective electric vehicle fire suppression requires a complete concept, and that is exactly what Fire Isolator has developed.
The Car Fire Blanket: An Essential First Layer
Fire Isolator offers three types of car fire blanket, each designed for a different level of risk and operational context:
- Economy Blanket: an entry-level, one-time use option suitable for lower-risk environments where rapid deployment is needed. Maximum 1,100°C. Test reports available: EN ISO 13501-1, DIN SPEC 91489, ASTMD6413
- Ultimate Blanket: Our most sold blanket, a step up in heat resistance (1,650 °C )and durability, designed for professional first responders. 9×6 meters, so big enough for pick-up trucks and big SUVs, too.
- Ultra Blanket: the flagship product, built from advanced high-temperature resistant 97% silica with a graphite coating, capable of withstanding extreme heat (2,000°C ), making it ideal for the most demanding electric vehicle fire suppression scenarios.
All three versions of the car fire blanket serve the same core purpose: to isolate the burning vehicle, cut off the oxygen supply (note that a battery in thermal runaway keeps burning, even under the blanket), and contain the spread of flames and toxic smoke. Deployed correctly over a burning EV, the car fire blanket buys precious time. But time alone does not extinguish a battery in thermal runaway. That requires more.
Why a Car Fire Blanket Alone Is Not Enough
The fundamental challenge with electric vehicle fire suppression is that the source of the fire, the battery pack, is sealed inside the vehicle, typically under the floor. A car fire blanket can contain what is happening on the outside, but the battery cells inside continue to burn in an exothermic chain reaction, generating their own heat and oxygen as they break down. You can suppress the flames above; you cannot stop the battery from within using a blanket alone.
This is why Fire Isolator developed a complete concept; a coordinated set of tools and tactics that work together around the car fire blanket to address every dimension of the problem.
The Full Fire Isolator Concept for Electric Vehicle Fire Suppression
The Fire Isolator system combines four core elements for truly effective electric vehicle fire suppression:
1. The Car Fire Blanket
As described above, the car fire blanket is draped over the vehicle to isolate it, contain smoke, and limit oxygen. It is the first and most visible layer of the response, but not the last.
2. Potassium Nitrate Aerosol Units
These aerosol units are deployed underneath the car fire blanket, where they release a fine aerosol of potassium nitrate. The aerosol interrupts the combustion reaction at a chemical level, actively suppressing the flames coming from the battery. This is the chemical attack on the fire that the blanket alone cannot deliver. The aerosols also neutralize the toxic gases and vapor under the blanket, minimizing the chance of a deflagration of these gases.
3. Mobile Water Mist Applicators
Water mist is applied in two ways. Our water mist applicators can be used underbody where they are positioned beneath the vehicle to cool the battery compartment directly. The watermist applicators can also be placed alongside the vehicle to cool the surrounding environment, protecting nearby structures and reducing heat stress on first responders. Together, these manage the thermal load that a car fire blanket cannot absorb on its own.
4. The EV Fire Gun
Perhaps the most innovative tool in the Fire Isolator concept is the EV Fire Gun, a specially insulated lance, rated to 1,000V, that physically penetrates the floor pan of the vehicle to reach the battery compartment directly. The development of this tool took over 5 years and many lab tests and real life fire tests later, we are now ready to launch this product. Once (drilled) inside the battery, it sprays water directly into the battery pack, attacking the thermal runaway at its source. This is the tool that gets to the heart of the problem.something no car fire blanket, however advanced, can do alone.
A Strategy, Not Just a Product
What makes Fire Isolator stand out in the field of electric vehicle fire suppression is not just the quality of its car fire blankets, though that quality is real and recognised. It is the thinking behind the full concept. Each tool addresses a different layer of the same problem: containment, chemical suppression, environmental cooling, and direct battery intervention.
For fire brigades, parking garage operators, ferry operators, and anyone responsible for managing the risk of EV fires, the message is clear: invest in a good car fire blanket, but do not stop there. Electric vehicle fire suppression is a multi-step process, and the Fire Isolator concept is built precisely to meet that challenge from every angle.
Conclusion
A car fire blanket from Fire Isolator is among the best available, available in Economy, Ultimate, and Ultra versions (and in every size necessary) to suit different operational needs. But even the Ultra blanket, at the top of the range, is a single tactic in a more complete system.
Effective electric vehicle fire suppression demands the full Fire Isolator concept: blanket, aerosol units, water mist applicators, and the EV Fire Gun working together. That is the approach that gives first responders the best chance of containing an EV fire safely, and that is the standard the industry needs to move toward.
Learn more about our Fire Blankets here.
Learn more about the potassium nitrate aerosol units here.