EV firefighting safety is currently one of the hot topics in fire protection. Electric car fire poses unique challenges for firefighters due to high-voltage batteries and the risk of toxic fumes. We were the first in Slovakia to successfully simulate an electric car fire in a garage.
There are over 10,000 electric cars in Slovakia. The higher interest in buying EVs is confirmed by the fact that over 4,000 electric cars were registered in 2023 alone. According to SEVA – Slovak Association for Electromobility, at the end of the first quarter of 2024 we have 2008 public charging points in Slovakia. Many of them are located in garages, which increases the risk of an electric car fire in garages.
There are more and more unanswered questions on this issue, from the fire safety design of the building with the design of the fire-fighting equipment, to the correct extinguishing technology, to the safety of the firefighters intervening. For this reason, in cooperation with the Fire and Rescue Force of the Slovak Republic, we organized a simulation of an electric car fire in an underground garage, which took place in the Lešt’ training facility.
The first requirement for conducting the test was to simulate real-world conditions. A PEUGEOT E-208 electrically powered vehicle, which has a lithium-ion battery, was placed in a concrete garage. The fire was started by an external source near the floor where the battery is located.
For representative conditions, the vehicle was stripped of several covers and the battery thermal management system. The garage was, of course, equipped with several fire detection devices, automatic fire detection devices and sensors for data collection.
After the vehicle was ignited with the gas burner, the flame was supplied for a few more minutes to sufficiently burn out the battery. The burning of the vehicle lasted approximately 15 – 20 minutes due to the fact that in normal conditions the identification of the fire and the arrival of the fire brigade at the scene of the fire is not immediate and the aim was to achieve the maximum intensity of the burning. The most risky part followed and that is the fire of the individual battery cells. In addition to the release of combustion products in the form of toxic gases such as hydrogen fluoride. This type of fire is dangerous due to the release of electrolyte into the surrounding environment. The temperature of the fire reached almost 700 °C.
Once fully ignited, the fire was almost immediately detected by the electrical fire alarm system by triggering an automatic call point. Once the maximum intensity of the fire was reached, the automatic water mist extinguishing system from VID FIREKILL was manually triggered, which significantly reduced the temperature in the space and thus reduced the risk of static failure of the garage structure. This was followed by the ventilation of the space using the COLT heat and combustion products extraction device. This process created the conditions necessary for locating the fire.
Firefighting units activity and vehicle isolation
Part of the electric car fire test was also perfect to check the possibility of safe towing of the vehicle. This was carried out using a special remote-controlled robot with the First Mover platform. After the vehicle was pulled out, it was then extinguished by COBRA. This is a water jet cutting device and a special foaming agent for extinguishing Li-Ion battery cells. Once extinguished, the vehicle was placed in an isolation container flooded with water. In this way, the vehicle can be safely monitored for the required time interval. The monitoring of the container was ensured by a drone with a thermal imaging camera.
At the end of the testing there was a firefighting demonstration with the Colossus robot from Shark Robotics. The multi-purpose robot can intervene in places with a high risk of danger.
An electric car fire in a garage is accompanied by dangerous extinguishing fumes, low visibility as well as high temperatures. In exactly these conditions, the robot can not only help firefighters in extinguishing, but also protect them against high temperatures.
The Colossus robot is resistant to temperatures up to 800℃ and has a solid aerospace aluminum construction. It moves on different types of surfaces at speeds of up to 3.5km/hour. It handles tasks such as observation, firefighting, reconnaissance, information gathering, material transport and personnel evacuation. Moreover, it perfectly fulfils the requirements in the fields of fire protection, civil and industrial safety.
It can be adapted to a specific task by changing equipment in less than 30s, by one person and without the need for special tools.
The test fire of an electric car allowed experts to gain knowledge to tackle this type of fire more easily. The basis will be to improve legislation to ensure fire safety in buildings for electric vehicles and the efficient use of fire safety equipment. Directly after the intervention at a press conference, the President of the Fire and Rescue Force Col. Ing. Adrián Mifkovič informed that the installation of fire-technical equipment in buildings and garages is necessary.
Thus, the correct tactics during the firefighting unit’s intervention and elimination of risks for the intervening firefighters by using specific technical and protective equipment necessary for extinguishing EVs is an integral part of it. These facts are confirmed by the words of the managing director of 3MON and fire protection specialist Simona Kalinovská:
“By using state-of-the-art detection, handling and extinguishing systems, we can much better protect not only property, but most importantly human health and lives, including safe conditions for the firefighters themselves.”
