What Firefighting Tools for Extinguishing Electric Vehicle Fires Really Work?

There are a lot of new tools showing up on the market that claim to extinguish electric vehicle fires. Do these tools really work? To solve the problem you have to have an understanding of how electric vehicles burn.

[mibars]

It's funny how the technologies that protect the fire from occurring in the 1st place (insulating batteries, separating them, mounting in strong containers) is actually hindering firefighting efforts.

[bennyc]

I have been part of a few research sessions here in Australia and there really isn’t any clear solutions. I think the main priority should be just containing the fire and reducing public exposure to toxic gases. I personally would like to see decals on the car they identify the cell chemistry.

[truantray]

Germany uses a small crane and a steel shipping container. The entire car is dunked into the container full of water for three days. All you can do is cool the exothermic reaction after runaway has occurred.

[ghost]

A great example of how difficult it is to use water to put out an EV fire is the various videos of EVs that have ended up underwater at the boat ramp and are happily burning away while being completely submerged.

[deejay]

As a fire investigator, I deal with Li-Ion battery fires ever-increasingly. Your assessment and comments are spot on and should be heeded by everyone. Well done sir.

[motionsick]

So the battery boxes need a flooding port accessible on the exterior of the vehicle. Or the boxes need an internal fire suppression system.

[smkl]

"The best for electric vehicle is to let it burn"... I'm glad that we agree on that.

[alanleung]

If anything, if EVs become common enough, it may be best to just have some sort of enclosed trailer with a winch inside that you can tow a burning EV into. That way it would be in an enclosed space that you can vent the gasses directionally while managing temperature.

[StacheDTraining]

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[jean-pierredeclemy]

Whilst cars with LPG tanks are not permitted in the Channel tunnel (cars/trucks/busses taken between England and France on a train) they do allow electric vehicles... until one combusts and people are killed I suppose.

[motionsick]

Flooding port on the battery box would def help. Needs to be standardized for the entire industry.

[christianmiller]

Here is one solution that works in a few parts: 1) As is the case with huge electric underground mining vehicles, pipes are plumbed into the battery, with sealed, emergency access points with threads made to accept normal size fire hoses. 2) Flood with a brine solution, I forget the percentage but it's even better if it is chilled. Salt being an electrolyte works to rapidly discharge the battery, so you just have to have enough solution to keep it cool while it discharges. I predict that these ports will be required in every country someday. With new energy vehicles comes new infrastructure, and choices must be made by the powers that should not be. There needs to be large tanks on the roof of every parking garage that gravity feed a fire suppression system with an outlet at every parking space. I've seen the future, and this brine flooding system will be part of the charging port. Charging ports and plugs will be as big around as a fire hose, with an inner lumen being the electrical wires surrounded by the outer lumen through which fluid can be automatically pumped if the thermal camera based fire suppression system detects thermal runaway. It will flood the battery when the internal battery temp is above a certain thresh hold as sensed by the Flir camera and prevent the thermal runaway and fire in the first place. Car insurance is going to be impossibly expensive soon, and be like home owners insurance in Florida because of this problem. What I described is the solution, maybe someone reading this will be in a position to actually design these systems sooner than would otherwise be the case. Look at the problems China is having because that's what it will be everywhere without this. Until new battery tech comes out and is widely adopted, there is no other solution. Governments are going to have to put the money into their firefighters and first responders to give them the equipment and training they require, and they need to separately zone parking areas and those for electric vehicles must have fire suppression and flooding systems. You can expand the number of electric parking spaces with the need, again, until new battery tech is there and no longer a risk. But what do I know, I'm just an autistic nerd.

[emiljustian]

I'll never own one for the reasons you have outlined. I can't imagine what the insurance costs would be to remediate damage to surrounding areas, deadly gasses being released into the atmosphere from burning plastics & replacement of the vehicle.

[HazmatAndRescue]

Thankyou for providing the info on the blankets. Won't put the fire out, but will protect exposures. Loved to hear the article about battery briner, and curious about your thoughts on the Cobra ColdCut.

[bfratko]

Excellent summary and deals with a few of the canards around putting out lithium-ion battery fires. I very much agree with the suggested approach in this video. There is also the issue of run-off from the application of water and/or foam and the pollution that is caused. It is better to treat as "controlled burn" and prevent fire spread. I will be recommending this video to others. Well done.

[joesilverbliss]

LION cells are like rocket fuel. They contain oxidizer. I agree with your recommendation to let it burn out. I was part of team that designed a LION pack for an EV. If they do go out, they can sometimes reignite hours or days later. If you have an EV parked in your garage, you should get a heat detector alarm and connect it to your home fire alarm system.

[coldfingersub]

A decade ago when I was telling people just let them burn and I’ll be over soon. People laugh at me like I was crazy..

This is what happens when people don’t have the slightest concept of physics and thermodynamics .

Are we managers or supervisors who are in charge are not confident at the job that was assigned to them making decisions .

If the vehicle is located, where those be no harm to property or people, just let it burn .

[dutchy]

Great video, especially the view of the flooded area because too much water was used. Brilliant!

[TheBonsaiZone]

I've heard different views on how common electric battery fires are. Is it a rare occurrence or is it fairly common? I'd love to know!

[michaelmonaco]

Mike from the Hazmat Guys here.. nice job on the information provided in this video. Everything is spot on.