The Barbados Fire Service has stepped up preparations to respond to the unique fire risks posed by electric vehicles, equipping fire stations across the island with specialist fire blankets and chemical additives to address lithium-ion battery fires, the fire chief told Barbados TODAY.
Chief Fire Officer Errol Maynard revealed that every station is now outfitted with fire blankets designed to smother EV fires, along with F-500, an additive that enhances water’s ability to cool and suppress battery blazes.
He explained: “We have fire blankets that are supposed to be effective. We have one at each station — we are actually one short except at the St James Station. We also have a foam named F-500 that is supposed to be able to add to the water that you’re using, and that helps cool it and extinguish the EV fires.”
The move comes as Barbados accelerates its transition to clean energy, including a phase-out of petrol and diesel vehicles and growing numbers of electric vehicles on local roads. These changes, while welcomed by the fire chief, present fresh challenges for firefighters, who are adapting to complex battery technologies and evolving fire risks.
“Electric vehicles are still a concern to us,” Maynard acknowledged in an interview with Barbados TODAY. “Internationally it is a concern because some of them are quite unstable when they catch fire. There is no absolute extinguishing media that we have to deal with them.”
To stay ahead of these developments, the BFS meets monthly with international agencies examining emerging risks from new technologies.
“Every month we meet with an international organisation looking at these evolving technologies . . . which includes electric vehicles and other mobile devices that carry these lithium-ion batteries. These are also areas of concern,” he said.
Barbados has already confronted several incidents involving EVs and lithium-ion batteries this year, including fires linked to electric bicycles, mobile devices, and photovoltaic installations.
“Thus far for the year, we had a number of fires including either electric vehicles, or even the photovoltaic installations—and one with a bicycle and one with a mobile device. So it is a concern for us,” Maynard said. “We are still working with our international counterparts to see how best we can be able to find a solution for it over time.”
Asked whether the service is fully prepared for an influx of cleaner vehicles, Maynard acknowledged that much depends on future resources and training.
“Well, I can’t say honestly,” he said. “But as long as there is a facility out there that will assist us in dealing with these electric vehicles or any electronic transportation device or otherwise, we will try our best to get that particular technology. And if there’s training to be done, we will acquire that training to make sure that all officers can respond in the most effective manner to protect the public of Barbados.”
Training remains central to the fire service’s strategy, said the fire chief.
“Once we have discovered there’s a particular hazard, if the training is not readily available, we will get the training for our officers,” Maynard said. “We’ve sent some officers overseas, we have brought in persons to assist with the training, and we have been fortunate thus far that some of the manufacturers and dealers, when they’re bringing new vehicles, they conduct courses for first responders… which we are part of.”
These training sessions have helped firefighters understand EV construction and battery placement, with similar initiatives rolled out for electric buses and other models sold by local dealerships.
The government’s clean energy policy includes a ban on the importation of new fossil-fuelled vehicles by 2030, as announced by Permanent Secretary of the Division of Energy, Andrew Gittens, in October 2021.
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
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