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Legislation that would direct the Washington State Patrol to study the fire hazards posed by electric vehicle batteries and establish best practices for firefighting, towing, storage and cleanup has unanimously cleared the state Senate.
The bill is sponsored by Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, an owner of an electric Chevrolet Bolt.
“We don’t have a good playbook on EV fires,” Harold Scoggins, chief of the Seattle Fire Department, said during Senate testimony last month.
During testimony before the Senate Transportation Committee, fire department officials said while a typical fire truck carries 500 gallons of water, it can take 12 times that amount to put out the typical EV battery fire.
“One of the biggest obstacles to public acceptance of electric vehicles is the special fire hazard they pose,” Wilson said. “Car fires are nothing new, but battery fires are in a class by themselves. You can’t buy a fire extinguisher that is up to this job. Government is trying to encourage all of us to buy electric vehicles, but before we drive off into the sunset, we need to know what to do when EV batteries go into flame mode.”
Under Senate Bill 5812, the study would include input from law enforcement, firefighters and the towing industry. While battery fires are rare, fire officials said during Senate testimony they are a growing problem as the market share of electric vehicles grows.
According to Scoggins, the department responded to 42 fires in 2023 that involved lithium-ion batteries, counting bikes, scooters and electric vehicles.
The legislation now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration.
