The Public-Safety Playbook
Firefighters and EMTs would train for EV blazes
New Jersey would add electric-vehicle fire risks to basic readiness for first responders. Existing firefighters and EMTs would have 36 months to finish the new course.
New Jersey would require firefighters and emergency medical technicians to learn how to handle electric-vehicle fires. The course would be part of firefighter certification, and the state would write rules for how it is taught.
- New Jersey would add EV-fire response to firefighter and EMT training.
- Existing firefighters would have 36 months to complete the new course.
- The firefighter course would be part of Firefighter 1 certification.
- State agencies would write the courses and rules.
- In New Jersey, firefighters and emergency medical technicians, or EMTs, would have to train for electric-vehicle fires as part of their basic readiness
In New Jersey, firefighters and emergency medical technicians, or EMTs, would have to train for electric-vehicle fires as part of their basic readiness. The proposal adds EV fire risks and response tactics to the public-safety playbook, so responders are not learning them for the first time at the scene.
For firefighters already engaged in fire suppression, firefighting or fire rescue before the law takes effect, the bill gives a 36-month window to complete the new course.
What the course has to cover
For firefighters, the Division of Fire Safety would adopt a training course in consultation with the New Jersey Fire and Emergency Medical Services Institute. That course would cover the risks associated with electric vehicles and how to safely and effectively manage electric-vehicle fires.
The state would also fold the firefighter course into the requirements for Firefighter 1 certification. On the EMT side, the Commissioner of Health would adopt a separate course with the Commissioner of Human Services, the institute and the New Jersey State First Aid Council, with a focus on the risks of electric vehicles and how to perform duties safely at an EV fire scene.
A modern hazard becomes standard drill
The bill is aimed less at paperwork than at the moments that matter. Electric vehicles can demand different judgment and different tactics than a conventional car fire, and the proposal would make that knowledge part of normal training rather than an extra specialty.
It would also direct the director of Fire Safety to write rules under the state Administrative Procedure Act, which means the training would be built into a formal state system instead of left to local improvisation.