Westmoreland County lawmaker proposes annual fee on electric cars to help first responders

You’ve probably seen more electric charging stations popping up in western Pennsylvania. That’s because the state reports a 45% increase in electric cars compared to last year.

With that technology comes new costly challenges for first responders.

“That’s just the blanket after you initially put the car fire out. You think you have it out. You put this blanket on top for 45 minutes and cool the underside of the vehicle,” said Nicholas Sohyda, Mt. Lebanon Fire Chief.

It’s a new tool for first responders to help with electric car fires. These vehicles can continue to reignite, and the blanket helps mash the heat, but it comes with a price. They can cost up to $3,000 — and some can only be used once.

“I would say we have about $12,000 invested in equipment. Vehicle fires and discarding lithium-ion batteries, it can get expensive,” Sohyda said.

The buckets for discarding those batters are $500 to start, an investment that most departments can’t afford. That’s why Westmoreland County Rep. Eric Davanzo is proposing an annual fee of $250 for electric and $125 for plug-in hybrid cars to help offset first responders costs.

“We do a fire and EMS grant every year, that money would go into that fund, and I think there are 2,500 fire companies across the commonwealth, so whoever got that grant it would be distributed evenly,” Davanzo said.

As electric vehicles become more popular, this type of equipment is vital, so Chief Sohyda said anything helps to keep the departments prepared.

“There is a device you actually plug into the vehicle when it’s in an accident it thinks it’s at home plugged in so it shuts the vehicle down,” Sohyda said.

But not all agree that the money to help should come from the owners of these cars.

“I don’t think it makes sense to do something that will discourage conversion to cars that run on renewable energy. If there is a fire hazard that should be addressed with some other funding source,” said Pierce Richardson, who owns a hybrid vehicle.

Davanzo said he plans to introduce the bill by the end of April.

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