In the event of a battery fire, what is the fastest, easiest way to drag the truck out of the garage?

[chl]

But that's because there are millions upon millions upon millions of ICE vehicles in the United States, and the number of EVs is a tiny fraction of a fraction of that number.

No, not really a myth - the stats consider that, not to would be kinda dumb, eh?

One analysis of U.S. government data estimates that EVs experience about 25 fires per 100,000 vehicles sold, compared to 1,529 fires per 100,000 for ICE vehicles.

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[chl]

When I got batteries they had to bring everything to code in my garage, they put a heat detector in, with xsense wireless interconnected smoke detectors inside the house. The electricians said a smoke detector would trip more often just because of how hot a garage can get.

Was the heat detector a code thing - haven't heard of that around here.

I've had a smoke detector in my garage for a few years, never had a false alarm - in my house I have, far more dust inside the house where people and pets frequent since dust if often mostly dead human skin and animal dander, unless you live on a dirt road or a similar environment.

 

[chl]

As for the original question, I remember seeing a story about a fire where there were two EV's parked next to each other, in a driveway, one was a TESLA the other a Lightning.

The fire spread pretty easily to the house from the proximity and from one EV to the other, it appeared the TESLA was the source since it was more badly burned than the Lightning at the time the pic was taken, but it did not say in the article.

During charging or soon after seems to be the most likely time a fire occurs due to the stress charging can have on the battery, and misaligned electrodes in some Fords led to some fires recently, so Ford advised the owners of those trucks affected not to charge over 80% until they have the battery modules replaced.


In general, for longevity...
Letting your truck/batteries cool down before a charging session is a good idea.
And charging at the lowest rate that fits your range and time needs is prudent as well.
Also, avoiding a deep charge cycle (over 50% of capacity) is also a good idea.
Minimize fast DC charging as well.

Those things will also reduce the risk of a rare battery fire.

But don't forget the EVSE. There have been reports of the Ford Mobile Power Cord having issues where it over heated during charging and some melting occurred.

EVSEs handle continuous loads for hours so it is important that they are installed correctly.
In cases where the supply wiring was not torqued down enough or loosened over time due to heating and cooling, problems have occurred.

Damaged wiring can be another source of fires, as can lightning strikes.

Overloading household circuits, defective outlets, using light bulbs with a wattage too high for the socket, are other common sources of electrical fire, as is defective appliances.

Probably those things are more likely to cause an electrical fire than an EV in your garage.

Another thing people don't often consider is the age of the breakers in your service panel.
They do have a useful life span and it is not infinite.
Watch for signs of aging like scorching or cracks and have the breakers like that replaced.
The wire on a breaker has a specified torque requirement based on the wire size and it is usually indicated on the breaker itself.

Rodents can chew on wires, and apparently like to chew on the wires in the Lightning LV battery and charge port area, according to several posts. A 12V battery short from a chewed wire can easily cause a fire.

I spray Critter Ridder inside my battery compartment as well as under the truck periodically just in case. I had my 2001 Ford Ranger fuel line and fuel pump chewed up by some rodent a few years ago and it set me back around $900 to repair. Chewed wires in the Lightning could be even more expensive.

There is always something, so be safe!

 

[irunalot]

Four of those scary EVs in one yard? And it appears that I might live near OP? Should I be thinking of moving before something happens?? (Of course I'm kidding.)

Seriously, +1 more for quick evacuation, calling emergency personnel, and keep up that insurance.

A question, though, for the fire experts: Does anyone know if a typical home sprinkler system (which seems to be required for much new construction around here) can put out enough water to absorb the energy from an EV or ICE vehicle fire and keep it from taking down the whole place? Or will it just add some steam and be overwhelmed? I've heard that a burning sofa puts out about a megawatt of heat for a short time, so a battery or fuel tank would seem to produce enough heat to boil a whole lot of water.

I’m certainly no authority on this subject but when I spoke to a fire chief of a large municipality, he said the latest strategy was to let the EV burn itself out. No amount of water was able to extinguish the blaze permanently. That was roughly a year ago. There could be a breakthrough now but I doubt it

 

[B177y]

Four of those scary EVs in one yard? And it appears that I might live near OP? Should I be thinking of moving before something happens?? (Of course I'm kidding.)

Seriously, +1 more for quick evacuation, calling emergency personnel, and keep up that insurance.

A question, though, for the fire experts: Does anyone know if a typical home sprinkler system (which seems to be required for much new construction around here) can put out enough water to absorb the energy from an EV or ICE vehicle fire and keep it from taking down the whole place? Or will it just add some steam and be overwhelmed? I've heard that a burning sofa puts out about a megawatt of heat for a short time, so a battery or fuel tank would seem to produce enough heat to boil a whole lot of water.

A properly designed fire sprinkler system will significantly slow or stop the spread to the structure, and possibly put out the vehicle fire as long as the HVB battery (EV/hybrid) or fuel (ICE/Hybrid) are not involved. Even if the HVB or fuel become involved, having the sprinkler or multiple sprinkler heads activate will slow or completely stall the spread of the fire, giving the fire department a massive head start in the fire suppression operation.

 

[GoodSam]

This high pressure cutter & water injection system might be the best:

Although a Lightning might make it harder to locate a penetration point into one of the nine chemical burning aluminum modules. Would probably need to work from underneath shooting up for the bottom six modules.

 

[Henry Ford]

But, as I said previously, if it could be parked in a level space (all mine are), left in neutral, and have wheel chocks that are easily removed, your chances of shoving it out the door are much, much better. This might be worth a try. But, as we know, Ford (and I'm guessing most all manufacturers) don't present this option. No one seems to want you to leave a car in neutral....even on a level surface. Gone are the days when you could just reach inside and move the gearshift to neutral! But, here's an idea....what if there was a button on the remote to place the vehicle in neutral....maybe a button on the back that you had to press 3 times. Then, move the truck, and press 3 times again to get it back into park.....or let it happen by itself after 30 mins.

You are proposing an easy way to allow your truck to run over your grandkids.

You should leave "safety" to professionals.

 

[Refactoringdr]

One last thing from me as a firefighter who has had to extinguish several ICE fires. (BTW, I always comment how these gascars seem to always catch fire). If there is a full tank of gas, and it ruptures (as it usually does), we basically have to wait until it all burns off before we can truly extinguish the fire. We don't usually carry class B foam (for petroleum fires) on the truck, so we just keep spraying water to keep everything contained. Seems like the same strategy that EV fires require. (Never had one yet).

P.S. Tires are also very hard to put out when they start burning, so you should probably leave your wheels outside, too.

 

[TurboChris]

Did you worry about your gas vehicle that was 60 times more likely to catch fire?

 

[RickKeen]

1. Park with a a chain attached to the frame hooked to a larger truck or piece of heavy equipment parked at the ready outside. Chain needs to be long enough and the equipment parked far enough away that you can operate it safely while the truck and garage are ablaze.
2. The chain and equipment need to be big enough to drag the truck in park, skidding on the tires, possibly pulling it through the garage door which may not operate.
3. Add a heat alarm so you will be sure and wake.
4. Make sure the garage is sealed air-tight from the house with materials that can withstand a blazing EV for at least 30 minutes (likely means concrete).
5. Make sure there are no bedrooms or exit paths that are above the garage or near the garage.
6. Add a sprinkler system that is sufficient to extinguish a burning EV (likely requires upgraded water supply connection or a water tower if you have a well). EV's are best extinguished by spraying from underneath which would require upward-spraying sprinkler heads in the floor - not sure anybody makes those standard.
7. Build the garage as a separate out building at least 100' away from the house. Maybe 200' Clear all brush and combustibles. Build it entirely out of block and concrete. Avoid a steel roof structure which would melt and sag.
8. Add a chemical fire suppression system that is effective on a burning EV (halon or CO2 or other inert gas won't work because lithium battery fires supply their own oxidizer). Install breathing apparatus and train all occupants how to survive the chemical system getting triggered.

 

[Heliian]

I’m certainly no authority on this subject but when I spoke to a fire chief of a large municipality, he said the latest strategy was to let the EV burn itself out. No amount of water was able to extinguish the blaze permanently. That was roughly a year ago. There could be a breakthrough now but I doubt it

Yes, your fire chief was unknowledgeable to how an ev battery is contained an how it burns.

Here is the latest in ev firefighting:

https://www.portland.gov/fire/news/...nd-firefighters-tackle-electric-vehicle-fires

Simple and effective.

 

[irunalot]

Yes, your fire chief was unknowledgeable to how an ev battery is contained an how it burns.

Here is the latest in ev firefighting:

https://www.portland.gov/fire/news/...nd-firefighters-tackle-electric-vehicle-fires

Simple and effective.

Wow! Awesome development. This is really good progress. Thanks for sharing

 

[Kev12345]

Trade it in for an LFP version (when they finally go on sale) and you won’t have to worry about a battery fire situation.

 

[B177y]

Yes, your fire chief was unknowledgeable to how an ev battery is contained an how it burns.

Here is the latest in ev firefighting:

https://www.portland.gov/fire/news/...nd-firefighters-tackle-electric-vehicle-fires

Simple and effective.

I'm a retired firefighter and current fire district commissioner. This is a cool tool, but you will not see it widely adopted or readily available any time soon.

It's just a cost vs benefit issue. Even a fire department as large as Portland only has one of these for the entire city, and they received a grant to purchase it. Portland is also a very EV friendly city with lots of them in use.

EV fires, while attracting a lot of attention, are still relatively rare. Most fire district/department budgets are already remarkably lean. Purchasing a tool such as this just isn't realistic until lots of grants are available or budgets become larger.

The press release doesn't give too many details on the operation of the EV firefighting device, but if a battery becomes involved, if you're more than 5 minutes away from the company that is carrying this, it's probably too late to make any big difference.

The main tactic will be to cool the car/HVB and protect the surroundings as best as possible with the resources that are available.

Press releases will tout that the sky is falling so that fire districts/departments can justify their grant requests for new equipment, but the reality is not nearly as bad.

 

[dmd3home]

I'm guessing that neither fire sprinklers nor the FD can contain a 100kWh+ EV fire in a garage......which is why I want to get it outa there in a hurry!

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