EV Fires - Did You Know?

[eddiet1212]

Did you know that data shows that EVs are less of a fire fisk than gas powered vehicles?​

(even though the news sensationalizes EV fires because the fires are difficult to extinguish)​

Data from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board shows that there are approximately 25 fires for every 100,000 EVs sold. In comparison, there are approximately 1,530 fires for every 100,000 gas-powered vehicles sold. Similar rates have been found in Norway, Sweden and Australia.


www.kbb.com/car-news/study-electric-vehicles-involved-in-fewest-car-fires/

www.fairfaxcounty.gov/environment-energy-coordination/climate-matters/EV-less-fire-risk#:~:text=Data%20from%20the%20National%20Transportation,fires%20for%20every%20100%2C000%20sold

 

[shutthefrontdoor]

 

[eddiet1212]

Informative...

 

[Phenix]

Biggest issue with EV fires is like you said, difficult to put out and contain especially when compared to traditional gas powered vehicles.
However that really comes down to emergency personal not being equipped to address it, but processes are getting better.

Know the Hazards Generated by Electric Vehicle Battery Fires

FSRI's study helps understand the Electric vehicles, their characteristic, EV fire behavior, EV fire incidents and fire safety for EV batteries.

fsri.org

Best research I've seen is basically penetrating the pack (safely with an isolated tool) and flooding the internals of the pack. Brings the heat down as well as extinguishing the flames. Batteries are usually sealed which is why dunking/submerging/spraying from outside is not always effective.

 

[eddiet1212]

Biggest issue with EV fires is like you said, difficult to put out and contain especially when compared to traditional gas powered vehicles.
However that really comes down to emergency personal not being equipped to address it, but processes are getting better.

Know the Hazards Generated by Electric Vehicle Battery Fires

FSRI's study helps understand the Electric vehicles, their characteristic, EV fire behavior, EV fire incidents and fire safety for EV batteries.

fsri.org

Best research I've seen is basically penetrating the pack (safely with an isolated tool) and flooding the internals of the pack. Brings the heat down as well as extinguishing the flames. Batteries are usually sealed which is why dunking/submerging/spraying from outside is not always effective.

Even if you have a fire extinguishing port to access the sealed battery pack, a battery fire can be roaring before public safety is on scene.

 

[Phenix]

Even if you have a fire extinguishing port to access the sealed battery pack, a battery fire can be roaring before public safety is on scene.

Same thing with a gas fire.
As a side note most EV companies keep their vehicles connected to the cloud and monitor and can predict issues before they happen versus a standard internal combustion engine can have a fuel or oil leak and no one is going to know if it is too late.
In my experience EV fires also don't just instantly happen, they take a bit to light off usually giving people time to react. (Google Battery Thermal Runaway)

All around will be better as technology finds better ways, but for what is out there now companies are doing pretty good. We used to put lead in gas. Just takes time for progress.

 

[LastDayScout]

VW uses partitions in their packs that act sort of like mini fire walls. It does not make it fire proof, but it certainly helps prevent the fire from spreading. It also helps with battery service as the bad cells are easy to identify , remove and replace. Hopefully, this technology migrates to Scout.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

As someone who trained as a first responder, including for vehicle fires, I was--rightfully--told that if I ever had to respond to a vehicle fire, I was likely being called for clean-up, not rescue. Most vehicle fires typically are fully engaged before a response team can get there.

Given that the per-capita of vehicle fires is about 100:1 ICE:EV, if a vehicle fire is your concern, you are much, much safer with an EV than with an ICE.

 

[JesseS]

Also as a retired 1st responder, most all vehicle fires I have rolled up on have been fully involved, so your response is just to secure the area until fire response arrives. At least with an EV you will get a battery overheat warning, hopefully with enough time to pull over and exit the vehicle..

 

[THil08]

Turtle Fire Systems EV Nozzle Electric Vehicle Fire

The patented design of the Turtle Fire System electric vehicle nozzle effectively delivers anywhere from 75 to 500+ GPM directly onto an EV battery case.

www.turtlefiresystems.com

This is a product made by a friend of mine. I highly suggest you give your local fire department a ring to get one of these. It’s gone through a lot of testing and it puts out EV fires faster than a normal hose.

 

[Scoutsie]

I’m looking forward to the day where people realize EV fires are made out to be worse than they are.

 

[THil08]

The issue is the amount of heat they give off. That’s where the Turtle comes in. It swamps the battery to cool it off so it can put it out. Faster than if you were using a Standard hose.

 

[J Alynn]

Also as a retired 1st responder, most all vehicle fires I have rolled up on have been fully involved, so your response is just to secure the area until fire response arrives. At least with an EV you will get a battery overheat warning, hopefully with enough time to pull over and exit the vehicle..

It’s no different than sprinklers in buildings. They aren’t there to save the buildings. They’re there to give 20-25 minutes of time to get humans and animals out without significant harm. Any level of fire in a car/truck is likely totaling it anyway so people first, environment second and the hunk of metal last