Prospeed Hiload Toyota Hilux 6x6 Firefighter

A car catching fire is classified as a bad thing. An electric car catching fire is even worse, and should that happen in a multi-storey car park, there could be disastrous consequences. Fortunately, a UK company has converted a Toyota Hilux pickup into a six-wheel EV fire-fighting machine to keep us all safe.

Electric vehicles are statistically less likely to catch fire than a regular petrol or diesel-powered car, but once a battery pack has been compromised by an accident or external fire, it can be challenging to tackle the resulting blaze. The energy stored in the battery pack causes ‘thermal runaway’, a chain reaction within the battery caused by a chemical reaction to the heat that burns ferociously, even when doused with water. At the moment, the best ways of fighting such fires can include immersing the entire car in water for days.

Prospeed Motorsport has recognised the issues that burning in confined spaces can cause — witness the car park collapse at Stavanger airport after a single car fire spread to hundreds of other vehicles — and created a compact but capable firefighting machine.

The York-based team has produced a ‘rapid intervention vehicle’ called the Hiload, based on a trusty Toyota Hilux pickup truck. Fitted with an entirely new chassis to avoid a compromised ‘cut and shut’ of the original frame, a torque splitter system, and an extra set of driven wheels to turn it into a 6×6, the Hiload has a gross vehicle weight of 5,600kg, which is enough to provide a 3,000kg payload — almost triple what the regular model can provide.

The addition of the extra set of rear wheels to the fire-fighter means the Hiload is 1,230mm longer than a Hilux but, importantly, for access to locations such as underground and multi-storey car parks, it remains relatively low slung, with a height of just 1,850mm — lower than many SUVs.

Prospeed Hiload Toyota Hilux 6x6 Fire fighter

As well as offering access to restricted areas, the enhanced traction and reduced ground pressure resulting from a six-wheel drive setup can also prove invaluable for tackling fires in remote and challenging environments such as forests and heathland.

Among the equipment the Hiload can carry is the Coldcut Cobra system, specifically designed for extinguishing EV battery fires. The system uses an abrasive suspended in water and then injected into the battery at 300 bar. This water cools directly inside the battery pack, lowering temperatures and reducing the risk of thermal runaway. This method can suppress a fire in 10 minutes, using just a single bathtub of water.

Alongside the firefighting Hiload, Prospeed is also working on a 5,000kg 4×4 model and a 6×6 Hiload with 6,500kg GVW as part of a light utility vehicle fleet for defence customers, which will replace ageing Land Rover Defender and Pinzgauer fleets.

Phil Huff
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