Homewood firefighters to carry electric‑vehicle fire blankets after $2,500 grant

Deputy Chief Broadhead announced that Representative David Faulkner helped secure a $2,500 grant from the Jefferson County Communication Fund to buy an electrical‑vehicle fire blanket for the Homewood Fire Department. “What we are going to purchase for that is an electrical vehicle fire blanket,” Broadhead said, adding the department already has two and that “we will be able to put 1 of these on every front line apparatus that we have.”

Broadhead explained why the tool matters: electric‑vehicle fires can require large water volumes to suppress—“most of them upwards of 16,000 gallons,” he said—and crews do not carry that amount on trucks. The blanket can smother a burning vehicle and allow firefighters to tow it away from structures, he added, and each blanket costs about $2,500 and is reusable.

The council heard the announcement as an informational item; no council vote was required. The grant was credited to Representative Faulkner’s office and will fund additional blankets so each frontline apparatus is equipped for initial response to EV incidents.

The item was presented at the start of the council meeting and the mayor and other members thanked Broadhead for the update.