Bill Text: NJ A5278 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Creates temporary grant program for electric vehicle fire suppression technology.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 9-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-02-28 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee [A5278 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-A5278-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman BETHANNE MCCARTHY PATRICK
District 3 (Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen Simonsen, Catalano, McGuckin, Peterson, Space, Clifton, Auth and Rumpf
SYNOPSIS
Creates temporary grant program for electric vehicle fire suppression technology.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act creating a temporary grant program in the Division of Fire Safety for electric vehicle fire suppression technology.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Division of Fire Safety in the Department of Community Affairs shall establish a pilot program to award grants to a county fire marshal, or county code enforcer where no marshal has been appointed, for the purchase and testing of emerging technology designed to assist in the suppression of fire from electric vehicles.
b. Each county fire marshal, or county code enforcer as the case may be, may apply to the division for a grant of $5,000 to provide a sole department, or a sole location serving multiple departments within the marshal's jurisdiction, with the means to purchase new products and test new methods to extinguish electric vehicle fires.
c. Funds for the pilot program shall be recovered from the Universal Service Fund, in a sum not to exceed $115,000. Up to $10,000 shall be used for the coordination and administration of the pilot program with the remaining funds to be distributed as grants.
2. Each county fire marshal, or county code enforcer where no marshal has been appointed, that receives a grant shall issue a written report to the Division of Fire Safety one year after receipt of the grant. The report shall include:
(1) the type of technology or equipment purchased;
(2) the number of times the technology or equipment was used;
(3) the effectiveness of the technology or equipment; and
(4) whether the county marshal deems the county would benefit from the purchase of additional equipment to aid in suppression of electric vehicle fires.
3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the sixth month next following enactment and shall expire one year after the effective date, except that the Director of the Division of Fire Safety may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill creates a Statewide pilot program to test new technology for fighting fires emanating from electric vehicles.
The National Transportation Safety Board issued a report in 2020 of its investigations into the difficulties experienced by fire departments attempting to extinguish electric vehicle fires. Specifically, the board cited increased risk to first responders of stored energy reigniting after all signs of fire and smoke have been put out.
The National Fire Protection Association emergency field guide recommends large, sustained volumes of water to extinguish high-voltage battery fires and highlights the difficulty of applying extinguishing agents directly onto the burning cells of an electric vehicle.
Emergent technology exists and should be examined as a resource in the repository of methods available to New Jersey's firefighters. This bill attempts to address current challenges by equipping select fire departments throughout the State with the newest technology for one year and requiring them to report their findings and recommendations to the Division of Fire Safety.
