Firefighters in Charlotte, North Carolina had to tackle a huge blaze in a parking garage construction zone last week. Fires like this always generate discussion around how fire safety can be enhanced and improved in car parks and parking garages alike.

The rise and rise of electric vehicles has brought with it a new issue for car parks wherever they may be located. Electric vehicle fires are notoriously difficult to extinguish and the most common form of fire in electric vehicles is either a damaged high energy battery or a manufacturing fault that creates a short circuit.

If an electric vehicle does have a faulty battery, is parked in a busy parking garage or car park and a fire breaks out, it has the propensity to spread to surrounding vehicles (which may also be electric vehicles) and cause extensive damage and threaten lives.

This is just one of the reasons why we’re working with car park operators and property management companies that look after retail sites, for example, that include large, high footfall car parks. By adding a Fire Cloak Electric Vehicle Fire Blanket to the fire safety kit on site in the car park, it is possible to deploy the blanket if an EV fire is suspected. The Fire Cloak will contain the fire and prevent collateral damage until professional firefighters are on the scene.