This fire truck can extinguish burning electric cars
Enclosed space
Statistically, electric cars are less likely to catch fire than cars with fuel tanks. But if they do catch fire, they are considerably more difficult to put out. Especially if they are in an enclosed space, such as an underground or multi-story parking garage, where large fire trucks cannot access them.
Hiload 6×6
British Prospeed Motorsport is therefore introducing a fire truck that does enter a parking garage thanks to a modest height of 1.85 meters. The Hiload 6×6 Rapid Intervention Vehicle (RIV) is a substantially rebuilt Toyota Hilux equipped with a completely new chassis. With the replacement chassis, the 6×6 has a vehicle weight of 5,600 kg and a payload of 3,000 kg. Almost triple that of a standard Hilux.
Coldcut Cobra
As a result, the Hiload can be equipped with the Coldcut Cobra system for extinguishing EVs, among other things. This system can create a hole in a burning battery pack and then spray water into it at very high pressure. The water instantly cools the battery, preventing the fire from spreading. The Coldcut Cobra system can extinguish a battery pack within 10 minutes with just 240 liters of water – that’s less than a bathtub of water and 20% of the Hiload’s tank capacity. The vehicle is currently undergoing extensive testing in the Czech Republic.