LASH FIRE is an international research project aiming to significantly reduce the risk of fires on board ride-on-ride-off (ro-ro) vessels. The project ran from September 2019 to August 2023, and has now issued a summary report. This document addresses some of the common misconceptions identified during battery electric vehicle fires. We list their nine main findings in summary form below.
Nine Facts Regarding Battery Electric Vehicle Fires
- Battery electric vehicle fires occur less frequently in EV’s, compared to those in internal combustion vehicles, relative to the total number of vehicles. The causes behind these incidents vary.
- Both types of vehicles carry large amounts of chemical energy in their materials. But this traction energy contributes only a small amount of their total heat release.
- Gasoline fires spread via leakage and pool fires. Lithium-ion battery fires generate jet flames. Fire spreads to plastic gas tanks much faster than to lithium-ion batteries.
- Fires in electric vehicles seldom start in batteries. Deluge systems help prevent fires spreading to them, by cooling ship surfaces and nearby vehicles.
- Fuel type, atmospheric pressure, adjacent temperature, and oxygen content all affect fire temperature. There is no evidence electric car fires are hotter than gasoline ones.
- The possibility of being electrocuted while fighting battery fires is extremely low. Electric cars have built-in safety systems. You would need to touch both terminals at the same time to receive a shock.
- All fumes from all vehicle fires are toxic. Firefighters should wear adequate protective equipment, and stay out of smoke plumes of burning vehicles.
- Battery electric vehicle fires generate hydrogen fluoride (HF) gas which is very toxic. Fully-dressed firefighters with breathing equipment are within acceptable limits, according to tests.
- A lithium-ion battery can enter runaway on a cellular, or module level during overcharging. Battery management systems should prevent this happening. There are multiple reasons for battery fires, including faults in cables and charging infrastructures.
Detailed answers to all the above topics are available on the FLASH FIRE report we link to below. This post is an overview, not a detailed technical review.
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