Luxemburg Community Fire Chief Lew DuChateau hopes you never have to see them use it, but it does show how their job is changing with more electric vehicles hitting the roadways. According to Yahoo! News, more than 1.3 million electric vehicles were sold in the United States in 2023, representing eight percent of all auto sales during the year. While electric cars present some benefits, they also come with some challenges. Electric vehicles can be hazardous for firefighters when they catch fire thanks to the chemical reactions caused when they burn and the “thermal runaway,” which occurs when the fire spreads from one battery to another. DuChateau says the electric vehicle fire blanket donated by the Lee and Kathy Anderson Charitable Trust Fund will hopefully limit the time they spend fighting such blazes.

DuChateau says the $3,000 blanket can be used up to 30 times, though he hopes it is used less. The Green Bay Metro Fire Department, which has responded to electric vehicle fires in the past, received its equipment to use in future incidents last August. The Luxemburg Community Fire Department also recently received generous donations from Agropur and Johnson Tree Farm, totaling over $5,000.