With hurricane season upon us, it's time to make a plan for your boats and electric cars.
Storm surge from Hurricane Helene last September caught many residents off guard, according to Hillsborough County Firefighter Captain Jeff Hartzner.
"A lot of these boats got lifted off their boat lifts, and then they just ... drifting around Tampa Bay, the canals," he said.
Drifting boats can damage other people’s property, while potentially spilling fuel and oil into the environment as the vessels sustain damage themselves.
“Then you got the wind pushing that boat. It could be stuck against somebody's dock, or it goes up against somebody else's boat,” Hartzner said.
If a storm is heading your way, Hartzner said it's best to take your boat out of the water and head to higher ground.
“Whether you have a professional company come and relocate the boat, or you have a trailer that's available to put on there — just move it out of the evacuation area,” he said.
Pretty much the same goes for your electric vehicles — bikes and scooters, too.
Hillsborough Fire Investigator David Tucker said to make sure anything with a lithium battery stays high and dry, away from flood waters.
"The very large contained power cells in EVs present a very significant fire load potential of the confined battery over-pressurizing and causing small explosions," he said.
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While EV fires are not statistically significant compared to internal combustion engines, Tucker said EV fires do represent a challenge to the modern fire service.
"We are trying to catch up to the technology that's ever evolving. They're ever more present in our surroundings," Tucker said.
He suggested EV owners who plan to evacuate ahead of a storm should map out the charging stations along their route.
"If you choose to stay at home and you sustain any type of flood exposure or flood damage, make sure that you're contacting your dealership or service center and getting their recommendations before you just re-power up the vehicle," he said.
When asked how many vehicle and structure fires Hillsborough recorded during last year’s hurricanes, county officials released numbers with the caveat that not all were necessarily caused by hurricanes directly.
From the day before through the day after Hurricane Helene passed on Sept. 26, 2024, there were 12 building fires and seven vehicle fires.
And from the day before through the day after Hurricane Milton passed on Oct. 9, 2024, there were 10 building fires and two vehicle fires.
This conversation was part of a series of hurricane planning events hosted by Hillsborough County.
