Responder and Recovery Safety in EV Fires Act

Key Points

• This bill creates a new federal working group called the Electric Vehicle Fire Response Working Group, which must be set up within 90 days of the law being enacted. The group's job is to study the unique dangers of EV fires and develop clear safety guidance for first responders.
• The working group must include at least 22 members drawn from the towing industry, firefighter organizations, police, EMS officials, automakers, battery manufacturers, research organizations, and several federal agencies including NHTSA and the Federal Highway Administration.
• The group will continuously review known and developing risks of EV fires, existing best practices, and actual roadside incidents. Based on that review, it will periodically issue or update best practices and guidance for responding to EV fires.
• A national database will be built to track EV fire incidents on public roads, recording details like location, time, weather, bystanders, and which firefighting methods worked. This data will be published through the existing National Emergency Response Information System (NERIS).
• The working group will last for 10 years and will be funded from the Department of Transportation's existing budget, meaning no new taxpayer money is immediately required. Members serve without pay.