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Legislation directing 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 both chambers of the Legislature and will now head to Gov. Jay Inslee for final approval.
The bill is sponsored by Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, the owner of an electric Chevrolet Bolt. The Senate passed Wilson’s bill 49-0 on Feb. 6 and the House followed 96-0 on March 1.
“We’ve put the cart in front of the EV,” Wilson said in a statement Tuesday. “Government is trying its best to encourage people to buy electric, and I think everyone assumed this technology was perfected. But when an EV battery catches fire, there isn’t a fire extinguisher made that can put it out. And fire departments sometimes are forced to decide the best thing they can do is stand back and let it burn.”
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.
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.
“We don’t have a good playbook on EV fires,” Harold Scoggins, chief of the Seattle Fire Department, said during Senate testimony in January.
According to Scoggins, the department responded to 42 fires in 2023 that involved lithium-ion batteries, counting bikes, scooters and electric vehicles.
According to Wilson, the study will help establish procedures and recommendations for needed equipment.
“We all want to drive off into the sunset and not into a ball of fire,” Wilson said.
