Fire blankets are one of the most misunderstood pieces of EV safety equipment. People expect them to extinguish a fire; that isn’t the job. A high-temperature EV blanket is a containment tool. Draped over a burning bike, scooter or vehicle, it starves the flame of air, absorbs and reflects radiant heat, and buys the critical minutes needed to stop the fire jumping to the next car, the next unit or the building itself.

Why containment matters more than knockdown

A lithium-ion pack in thermal runaway generates its own heat and oxygen, so smothering alone won’t reliably stop the internal reaction — the cells can keep venting and can reignite (NVESR, 2025). That is exactly why a blanket earns its place: even when the battery keeps reacting underneath, containment limits the fire to a single source while emergency services get on scene. For crews, less spread means a smaller, safer, faster job.

Reading the European classifications

Australia has no lithium-ion classification under AS 1841 yet, so the meaningful benchmarks come from Europe. Two worth understanding:

• EN 13501-1 classifies a material’s reaction to fire. Our heavy-duty car blanket is independently classified A2-s1, d0 by SGS — the second-highest reaction-to-fire class, with the lowest smoke rating and no flaming droplets.
• Fire growth and lateral spread are measured under EN 13823; the same blanket recorded a fire-growth rate of 0 W/s with no lateral flame spread.

Independent classification is the difference between a genuine fire blanket and a piece of coated fabric. Ask any supplier for the test report.

Matching the blanket to the object

• E-bikes, e-scooters and mobility devices: a compact e-bike & e-scooter blanket is easy to store by the charging point and fast to deploy.
• Forklifts, small machinery and multi-device areas: a 5m × 5m blanket gives the coverage a larger footprint needs.
• Electric cars and vans: a full 8m × 6m car fire blanket is sized to drape a whole vehicle and contain it in a driveway, workshop or car park bay.

Think of a blanket as spread control, not a fire out. Keep it sized to the biggest thing it might need to cover, store it where the risk actually is, and pair it with an extinguisher rated for lithium-ion chemistry. Browse the full range in our EV fire blanket collection.