IEA EV TCP – Task49 Online workshop: EV Fire Emergency Response Procedures/Guidelines

Carlo Mol – Task Manager IEA EV TCP – Task49 “EV Fire Safety”

IEA EV TCP – Task49 – “EV Fire Safety” has been established to address concerns about the fire safety of electric vehicles (EVs). Despite growing interest in EVs among policymakers, companies, and end users, trust in their safety, particularly regarding fire risks, remains low. 

The initiative aims to gather and disseminate objective information about EV fire safety to enhance overall trust in electric vehicles. Task49 will collect objective information in its literature database and will organise online workshops on different EV Fire Safety related topics to share information and best practices.

Speakers

Carlo Mol

R&D

+32 14 33 58 85

carlo.mol@vito.be

Marco Aimo Boot -  Iveco S.p.A. - member of ISO TC 22/SC 36/WG 7 

Emergency Response Guides (ERGs) provide valuable multilanguage information to support the first responders tactical response in case of different accident typologies (crash, fire, submersion and\or leakage of fluids or gases) adopting standardised labels, colours, symbols and graphics to make emergency information more complete, accurate, and accessible during training and response. As well, these documents support the second responder to manage properly any vehicle transfer from the accident scene to the workshop, depot or quarantine areas.

The International Standard ISO 17840 includes a well structured template common between the Rescue Sheet and ERGs layout. Both ERG and the Rescue Sheet follow a flowchart of the main actions to take by first and second responders, arriving at the accident scene or performing towing and other activities afterwards. ERGs deliver in-depth information to increase the rescue teams know-how in the periodic training sessions. 

Accordingly to the EuroNCAP - post crash protocol, any vehicle manufacture is required to release both the Rescue Sheet and the ERGs under own responsibility for the brands, models and variants in their complete product portfolio offer.

Speakers

Marco Aimo-Boot

Iveco S.p.A.

USA - Adam Barowy - UL Research Institutes - Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI) 

The fire service is strained to develop response procedures for electric vehicle fires. Let it burn! But what if it is a busy city street? Never mind, use copious amounts of water! But what is in that runoff? Should I use a special new EV tool or fire extinguishing agent instead? 

Even though there are a growing number of EVs, there is still a lack of data on which to make decisions during EV fires. This presentation will provide a working knowledge of battery fire science to make it clear how and why batteries burn differently than traditional fuels, how incident location can impact hazards, and to frame the EV fire problem. That working knowledge will be used to summarise Fire Safety Research Institute research findings assessing electric vehicle fire behavior and comparing it to modern gas-powered vehicle fire behavior. 

We will address whether EV fires are faster growing, bigger, and longer lasting and more likely to spread to the next vehicle or other exposures. The presentation will conclude with size-up and tactical consideration for EV fire incident response and best practices using the tools on every fire truck across the country: hoses, nozzles, and water. Operational considerations for EV fire blanket use including decision aids and hazards during use will be shared.

Speakers

Adam Barowy

UL Research Institutes - Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI)

Sweden – PerOla Malmquist - Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, MSB 

PerOla Malmquist will share experiences about the operational considerations when extinguishing EV fires by inserting water into the battery pack and also the risk reduction measures made to handle the hazards. There is a lot of black or white advice out there suggesting one solution for every EV fire. In this presentation PerOla will talk about the nuances that are necessary to consider. 

These nuances will help out to make safe and sometimes offensive operations and maybe part of the time defensive operations. The nuances will be about electricity, explosions, jet flames, arcing and the high temperatures from battery fires. Things that at some scenes will be easy to deal with in a safe way, and on other scenes will take more effort to deal with and very hard to handle safely. It is all about finding the nuances.

Speakers

PerOla Malmquist

Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, MSB

Data collection is a challenge for firefighters in the UK and we need accurate data to build an evidence base of incidents and learnings. Phil will discuss the prevalence of fires involving Electric Vehicles in the UK whilst highlighting the important distinction between fires in electric vehicles and fires involving the battery pack of an electric vehicle. Phil will then move on to discuss the hazards for firefighters and the tactical challenges of dealing with incidents involving the battery of an electric vehicle whilst maintaining public confidence in the Fire and Rescue Service.

Speakers

Phil Clark

National Fire Chiefs Council

Austria - Christoph Gruber – Business Development Key Account Manager, Rosenbauer

The growing number of EVs has brought new operational challenges for fire services, especially regarding thermal runaway, re-ignition, and the safe management of stranded energy. This presentation provides an overview of the most relevant firefighting solutions and techniques currently available on the market – including Rosenbauer’s in house developments– and explains their specific tactical applications, strengths, and operational limits. 

Drawing on the company’s own research and development experience, the presentation will outline the testing and validation processes behind these solutions, from controlled battery fire experiments to full-scale field trials. Deployment examples will illustrate how these tools can be integrated into incident response procedures for different operational environments. An insight into both the current state of the art in EV firefighting technology and the innovation pathway that brings.

Speakers

Christoph Gruber

Business Development Key Account Manager, Rosenbauer