North Metro Demo with Darley

Ian Zahn Photo ©

On December 21st, 2022 representatives from W.S. Darley & Co. stopped by the North Metro Fire Rescue District Training Center to discuss some of the dangers associated with plug-in vehicles and other battery-operated devices like e-bikes and scooters that firefighters may come in contact with in their day-to-day duties. Members from North Metro Fire Rescue District, Adams County Fire Rescue, and Mountain View Fire Rescue were on hand for a short classroom discussion where they were introduced to how the electrification of every day items present firefighters with new challenges and how some of those challenges can be overcome. One of the items shown was the Emergency Plug, this is a device when inserted into the charging port of a plug-in vehicle will disable the drive function of the car by making it think it is plugged in. This could be an advantage on an in-car medical emergency (“slumper”) or in accidents where it is difficult to tell if the drive system has been disabled by the safety systems built into the car. The Emergency Plug does not disable the other electrical circuits of the car like power seats or windows, so those items will function normally. The other item shown was a Bridgehill Fire Blanket. This is a low-tech tool made of a high-tech material that when placed over a burning vehicle can isolate and even extinguish car fires, including plug-in vehicles. After the classroom discussion the crew from North Metro Engine 61 were able practice deploying a fire blanket once without fire and then once with fire. These evolutions were done with gusty winds causing discussion on how to best deploy the blanket. After deploying the blanket over the burning car, the E61 officer noted a substantial reduction in temperature on his thermal imaging camera.

Ian Zahn Photo ©

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