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Hazards of EVs in the built environment and firefighting tactics

By: Publication details: Borås : RISE Research Institutes of Sweden AB, 2023Description: s. 191-200Subject(s): Online resources: In: Proceedings from the Seventh International Conference on Fires in Vehicles, Stavanger, Norway, April 24-25, 2023Abstract: Vehicles have changed significantly over the years. Modern vehicles present new hazards due to the incorporation of larger quantities of combustible materials (e.g., fuels, plastics, synthetic materials, etc.) into their designs and the popularization of alternative fuel (e.g., electric) vehicles. Concerns regarding their unique hazards, burn characteristics, and typical burn duration continue to be raised in the fire community. Compared to older vehicles, modern vehicles burn differently. Modern parking structures have optimized space requirements for vehicle parking and storage and often implement automated retrieval features and car stacking, which presents unique hazards as well. Thus, it raises the question if the safety infrastructure of these parking structures and vehicle carriers have kept pace. Similar concerns have arisen among the fire service communities. There are a number of situations in which emergency responders may encounter EV incidents or crashes, including submersion, a collision, downed energized power lines laying on the EV, an exposure to an external hazardous material incident, or a vehicle over an embankment, for example, which often involve fire and/or significant damage to the vehicle. In all these events, first responders are called upon to conduct an initial size-up, rescue trapped victims, extinguish fires, assess the remaining state of charge, and determine means for vehicle removal, while trying to guard against stranded energy induced electric shock and mitigate a li-ion battery thermal runaway or reignition event. The Fire Protection Research Foundation conducts a variety of research projects relating to the hazards posed by emerging technologies and the general push for electrification on the built environment and fire brigades. This paper covers current knowledge of the fire hazards of electric vehicle and goals, methods and preliminary findings of three distinct research activities: 1) Assessment of EV firefighting techniques and technologies and the impact on stranded energy 2) Classification of modern vehicle hazards in parking structures – Phase II and 3) Lithium-ion Battery Electric Bus Fire Risk Management and Prevention.
Item type: Reports, conferences, monographs
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Vehicles have changed significantly over the years. Modern vehicles present new hazards due to the incorporation of larger quantities of combustible materials (e.g., fuels, plastics, synthetic materials, etc.) into their designs and the popularization of alternative fuel (e.g., electric) vehicles. Concerns regarding their unique hazards, burn characteristics, and typical burn duration continue to be raised in the fire community. Compared to older vehicles, modern vehicles burn differently. Modern parking structures have optimized space requirements for vehicle parking and storage and often implement automated retrieval features and car stacking, which presents unique hazards as well. Thus, it raises the question if the safety infrastructure of these parking structures and vehicle carriers have kept pace. Similar concerns have arisen among the fire service communities. There are a number of situations in which emergency responders may encounter EV incidents or crashes, including submersion, a collision, downed energized power lines laying on the EV, an exposure to an external hazardous material incident, or a vehicle over an embankment, for example, which often involve fire and/or significant damage to the vehicle. In all these events, first responders are called upon to conduct an initial size-up, rescue trapped victims, extinguish fires, assess the remaining state of charge, and determine means for vehicle removal, while trying to guard against stranded energy induced electric shock and mitigate a li-ion battery thermal runaway or reignition event. The Fire Protection Research Foundation conducts a variety of research projects relating to the hazards posed by emerging technologies and the general push for electrification on the built environment and fire brigades. This paper covers current knowledge of the fire hazards of electric vehicle and goals, methods and preliminary findings of three distinct research activities: 1) Assessment of EV firefighting techniques and technologies and the impact on stranded energy 2) Classification of modern vehicle hazards in parking structures – Phase II and 3) Lithium-ion Battery Electric Bus Fire Risk Management and Prevention.