Vehicle fires are scary, no doubt. They cause a lot of lethal and imminent complications, especially if you can’t safely and quickly pull over from a main road. Additionally, there is a good chance that an extinguisher won’t be able to handle a car fire. This is the case most of the time actually, and is also when car fire blankets come into play.
What is a Car Fire Blanket?
Fire blankets are a simple concept; they are sheets of fire-retardant material. They are mainly intended for use in the early stages of small fires, quickly starving and smothering them. Commonly used in culinary environments due to their ability to contain small but potentially deadly fires, they are very easy to use; many would be more confident using a fire blanket than a fire extinguisher.
Car fire blankets are a fair bit more specialised, in both obvious and unobvious ways. They are bigger, of course; the one pictured in the header image is 8×6 metres, for example. More specifically, it is Vigil’s Electric Car Fire Blanket, the name of which entails one of the more obvious differences. It is electric vehicle-suitable, meaning it is viable for use on lithium battery fires. But it can be used on just about any vehicle. This is our main example for the rest of the article, but most car fire blankets will likely be for electric vehicles anyway.
When draped over a burning vehicle, the blanket serves to contain the fire and the fumes. In this sense, and particularly in the case of larger fires, it is unlikely to fully extinguish the flames. But containing the fire and fumes is essential in preventing a more serious fire or dangerous fumes filling the air and should prevent excessive damage to the vehicle. While suitable for personal use, these blankets are often found in car parks, petrol stations, showrooms and repair facilities, for example.
How to Use a Car Fire Blanket
Well, that’s where the video comes in. Right at the bottom of this article, there is a demonstration video in which two of our lovely members of staff were plucked out of the office and asked to drape a fire blanket over their boss’s car. And it went really well! That’s because these things are easy to use as long as you have two people on hand (yourself included).
It’s not ideal that they require more than one person, but you won’t be using them in most circumstances anyway. Besides, how else are you supposed to get an eight-metre-wide blanket over an actively burning vehicle quickly and safely? In the event of a vehicle fire, pull over in an open area as soon as you can and get to a safe distance. Then call the fire brigade. Make all efforts possible to warn oncoming traffic.
The blanket comes in just before you call the brigade, and makes things easy with its four handles. Which is all you need to know before I go over things step-by-step.
1: Remove the blanket from the bag; read the instructions on the bag before doing this if you feel the need.
2: Unroll and unfold the blanket in front of the car. The handles should be aligned with each side of the vehicle.
3: Take the blanket by the handles from either side, and walk it over the vehicle.
4: Once the vehicle is under the blanket, tuck the blanket under the sides by kicking.
5: Retreat to safety and call the fire brigade.
If any of this isn’t clear, then please watch the video. The video also shows how to repackage the blanket, which should ONLY be done in cases where the blanket was not actually used.
When NOT to Use a Car Fire Blanket
Well, an obvious answer would have to be if you’re alone. We do have smaller Lithium Battery Fire Blankets, like the 3×2 metre. This is for use on smaller vehicles like electric scooters and bikes, or even lithium battery-powered devices like laptops. As such, it is easy for one person to deploy and use. This is, of course, unlike the 8×3 metre or any car-specific fire blanket. They are too big to use by yourself; we wish this wasn’t the case, but it is.
Other times you shouldn’t use the blanket also follow on from the earlier advice. If you are considering using the blanket, then first and foremost, exit the vehicle and call the fire brigade. If you haven’t been able to do this safely, then your circumstances are likely too severe, and possibly even physically restrictive, to make effective use of a fire blanket. This is why you will likely want other safety items on hand; more on this below.
And lastly, just so I’ve put it in plain terms. If the fire is too big to safely approach the vehicle, then you can’t use the blanket! In Germany, they call these things ‘fire limitation blankets’. This is probably a more apt term, as they merely prevent the spread of the fire, rather than actually extinguishing it. So, they are to be used in the middle ground between the fire being too big for an extinguisher to put out and small enough that approaching the vehicle and draping the blanket over it is possible.
Are there Other Ways to Deal With a Car Fire?
Of course! The fire brigade for one. It’s always going to come down to them, as no matter what, you WILL call them in the event of a car fire. There are definitely ways to tackle car fires yourself, though this relates nigh-exclusively to small/early-stage fires.
Extinguishers such as the Firexo All-fires or any good ABC Powder extinguisher are suitable here. This is primarily due to them being safe to use around electrical equipment, while being effective at tackling petrol fires. To put it down to a fire rating, you’re looking for a good BC rating at a minimum. A car extinguisher should be easy to access at all times, but remember, only use it if you are sure a single extinguisher can do the job. If you have any doubt, then just get to a safe distance and follow the advice I outlined earlier.
There are a few other things useful to have in the event of a car fire. A first-aid kit is an obvious one, fire or not. Perhaps a bit less obvious is a lifehammer. Also known as an emergency hammer, a lifehammer is great for when there are complications with exiting the vehicle. These tools easily smash windows from the inside, and even have a seatbelt cutter in the base. These are potentially life-saving in a car fire, even if you don’t end up putting it out.
Well, I hope you feel a bit better about car fires now. And if you don’t, then at least you know how and when a car fire blanket can be used to prevent excessive damage to the vehicle and mitigate the spread of fire and toxic fumes. So, if you’re interested in picking one up, then check out our range here. Thanks for reading!
