Deputy chief announces $2,500 grant to buy electric‑vehicle fire blanket for Homewood fire trucks

Deputy Chief Broadhead told the Homewood City Council that firefighters received a $2,500 grant from Representative Faulkner’s office to purchase an electrical‑vehicle fire blanket for the department. "David Faulkner reached out to me right before we left this evening and announced that we received $2,500 off a grant that we wrote for the Jefferson County Communication Fund," Broadhead said.

Broadhead said the blankets—about $2,500 each—can smother electric‑vehicle fires and allow crews to tow vehicles away from structures, reducing the need for the tens of thousands of gallons of water some EV fires require. "These things run about $2,500 apiece. They are reusable," he said, and the plan is to place one on every frontline apparatus.

The mayor and council thanked Broadhead for the update; no formal vote was required for the announcement. The funding and the planned distribution of the blankets were framed as a public‑safety improvement for the department’s response to electric‑vehicle incidents.