Firefighters Unprepared For Powerful EV Car Fires
As the Biden administration continues to dump billions into its headlong rush to convert the nation to electric vehicles (EVs), one essential issue has yet to be addressed. When these catch fire, it is virtually impossible for firefighters to extinguish.
Emergency officials are clueless on how to respond to the raging infernos that result when the lithium-ion batteries erupt in flames. They also produce extremely toxic smoke when set afire.
One Tennessee fire official noted that 45,000 gallons of water were sprayed on a Nissan Leaf that was set ablaze.
The next such incident, according to Franklin County Fire Marshal Andy King, could be different. “I think if we were faced with a similar scenario next time, we might need to let it burn,” he explained.
This is significant when considering that Washington estimates there will be roughly 48 million EVs on American highways by 2030. And even though studies show that these vehicles catch fire less often than their internal combustion engine counterparts, there is still a major issue.
Fires with conventional vehicles are generally able to be extinguished by water. Not so with their non-gas powered counterparts.
Maryland fire officials noted the extreme danger when the combustible EV batteries go up in flames. State Fire Marshal Brian Geraci told local media that the situation quickly goes from bad to worse.
Geraci noted, “These things fail very quickly, and they give off a tremendous amount of heat and tremendous amount of fire. There’s an explosion hazard.”
A chain reaction event called a “thermal runaway” may be set off by an EV fire. This is when a fire expands beyond one cell in the lithium-ion battery and quickly spreads to others.
Baltimore County Fire Bureau Chief Tim Rostkowski said that when this reaction occurs, “they will generate their own heat and they will propagate, or they will move from cell to cell to cell. These batteries can get over 1,000 degrees, so the key is getting to those batteries.”
Rostkowski explained that if firefighters do not cool the batteries down quickly enough and for a long enough period, the heat they generate will reignite the fire.
There is currently a rush for technology to catch up with this threat as the proliferation of EVs increases. The Wall Street Journal reported that Audi filed a patent for a battery that can suppress a fire.
Other firms are crafting technologies such as early warning sensors and materials to contain thermal runaway.
None of this matters, of course, to the Biden administration that has poured hundreds of billions into its cause. Some of that funding would have been better spent on ensuring the technology is safe for consumers to park in their garages.
