A lithium-ion (li-ion) battery fire needs three things to keep on burning. These three essentials are heat, oxygen, and something to burn. A fire blanket, usually made of glass fiber or kevlar, cuts off oxygen if tightly wrapped around a burning object. However, the U.S. Fire Protection Association confirms that fire blankets and li-ion battery fires are incompatible, including in electric vehicles.
Why Fire Blankets Do Not Put Out These Fires
Lithium-ion batteries are highly heat-sensitive. Fire can spread between cells during a process called thermal runaway. Most extinguishing methods work by depriving a fire of oxygen from the air.
Lithium-ion battery fires are immune to most of these methods. This is because the lithium-salts in their electrolytes are self-oxidizing, meaning they release their own oxygen if they overheat.
This is why we cannot ‘oxygen starve’ lithium-ion battery fires with most fire extinguishers, including fire blankets. Now we understand how fire blankets and li-ion battery fires are miles apart, what else can we do?
Extinguishing Lithium-Ion Fires Without Fire Blankets
The report by the U.S. Fire Protection Association that we link to below, highlights the potential risks of using fire blankets on lithium-ion fires. The document goes as far as warning of a potential explosion hazard, when fire blankets are used.
The association issued their warning in the context of electric vehicle fires involving lithium batteries. We believe it applies equally to any device containing these batteries, and so this warning has household applications too.
The Fire Safety Research Institute of Underwriters Limited, has issued an Immediate Safety Advisory we link to below. This warns that, ‘when flaming is eliminated by a fire blanket: The ongoing accumulation of flammable gases released by continued thermal runaway in the battery pack, presents a potential explosion risk’.
There are only two ways, as far we are aware, to deal with a lithium-ion battery fire:
- If the appliance containing the battery is small, a firefighter may have some success with an approved lithium fire extinguisher.
- If you are a fire professional faced by a burning electric vehicle, cool the vehicle with copious water to prevent the fire spreading.
Your life and your welfare are precious. Unless you are a fire professional, step aside and request help. The best way to deal with a lithium-ion battery fire is often to let it burn itself out, while cooling the environment with copious amounts of water.
More Information
Are Electric Vehicle Fires Still Increasing?
Water Does Not Extinguish Lithium Fires
Preview Image: Lithium Is Inherently Unstable
Article by National Fire Protection Association May 30, 2025
