Toyota Hilux 6×6 hearth truck was constructed to battle EV fires

With extra electrical autos on the highway, EV fires have obtained quite a lot of consideration within the information. Excessive profile blazes like broken battery packs spontaneously catching hearth within the wake of Hurricane Ian and a complete cargo ship of EVs going up in flames have prompted one U.Okay. firm to create a fireplace truck particularly designed to battle EV fires. 

York-based Prospeed Motorsport customary a fireplace truck out of the globally widespread Toyota Hilux pickup due to its compact dimension. EV fires usually get away in locations which are onerous to succeed in with standard fire-fighting autos, like underground garages or multi-story parking buildings. They’ve named it the Hiload, and made positive it has a 1,850mm (72.8 inches) top so it might probably clear top restrictions in city carparks. 

Moreover, EV fires normally start with battery packs which are broken internally. The catch is that they are normally housed in difficult-to-reach areas of the automobile. The Hiload carries a ColdCut Cobra hearth suppression system that makes use of an “extremely excessive strain lance” to shoot abrasive materials suspended in water at 4,350 psi. The liquid spear breaks by way of the battery casing so water will be sprayed straight into the modules. 

In idea this may restrict “thermal runaway,” the phenomenon the place broken lithium-ion batteries warmth up very quickly in a chemical chain response to excessive temperatures that may be very tough to place out. Firefighters in some instances have needed to preserve EVs submerged in water for days. The ColdCut Cobra system is claimed to have the ability to squelch a fireplace with simply 60 gallons of water.

The Hiload begins out as an everyday four-wheel-drive Hilux, however the ladder body chassis is changed with a one among Prospeed’s personal design to deal with six wheels. It will increase payload to six,600 kilos and will be configured in quite a lot of methods. Prospeed has been constructing different six-wheeled autos as troop carriers,120-mm mortars or tactical infiltration autos. As hearth truck, it weighs 5,600 kg (12,346 kilos), however maintains a decrease middle of gravity than bigger hearth engines.

The Hiload is presently being examined within the Czech Republic as Prospeed works on a smaller model with solely 4 wheels. 

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