While research indicates that an electric vehicle (EV) is less likely to catch fire than a petrol or diesel vehicle, the damage from an EV fire is more severe, posing additional risks to emergency responders should it occur. As EV charging facilities and EVs become more common in Malaysia, the safety departments of workplaces and buildings should be prepared to manage an EV fire if it happens, even though the probability is low. Depending on the risk assessment for the vicinity, an EV fire can still be managed without trained responders specialized in EV fires.
Evacuate the vicinity
Human safety is the highest priority during an EV fire. Unlike a normal fire, EV fire is dangerous not only because of the heat and smoke, but also the toxic gases produced due to off-gassing. Off-gassing happens when the overheated lithium-ion batteries release clouds of flammable and toxic gases such as hydrogen fluoride (HF), carbon monoxide, and various hydrocarbons. If the gases are accumulated to a certain extent, an explosion can happen.
Hence, even if a fire has not broken out yet, but clouds of vapor show up surrounding an EV, an evacuation should be carried out so that the employees and building occupants are safe from a potential fire or explosion, and also from toxic gases.
Isolate the vicinity
Due to the thermal runaway process of damaged lithium-ion batteries, an EV fire is seemingly inextinguishable due to the chemical processes that sustain the combustion. The foolproof way of managing an EV fire is to let the batteries burn out while ensuring that the fire does not spread to other flammable materials in the surrounding area, causing more damage to the area.
The vicinity of the EV fire should be isolated by removing flammable materials such as other vehicles and items to prevent the fire from spreading, if it is safe to do so.
Contact Bomba immediately
Similar to other fire incidents beyond the capability of the in-house emergency response team (ERT), Bomba should be contacted immediately. As workplaces or buildings depend on professional help in managing the EV fire, what safety officers can do is provide necessary support to Bomba so that they can manage the incident efficiently.
Information that is helpful to Bomba includes:
- The floor plan that indicates the exact location of the fire and availability of firefighting facilities such as hydrants and sprinklers.
- Information about the burning vehicle, such as brand and model, and which part of the car is burning.
- Fire status of the vicinity, whether the fire has spread, or any thermal runaway indicators are noticed.
- Evacuation status of the workplace or building
——
It is not recommended for ERT to handle an EV fire without prior training, as it takes different techniques and equipment to manage the EV fire incident safely. Nevertheless, it is crucial to include EV fire scenarios in the fire drill routine to educate employees and building occupants on identifying an EV fire so that accurate incident escalation can be made for swift incident management to be carried out.
