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It's also that if a Lithium battery catches fire, it's not going to be stoppable by a common extinguisher. The only thing you can really do is put a shield arou

It's also that if a Lithium battery catches fire, it's not going to be stoppable by a common extinguisher. The only thing you can really do is put a shield around the fire, or drop a tungsten dome around it and pray it doesn't fly off.

Gwypaas 7y ago
The larger problem is the toxic gases being released.[1] For my latest safety training in the maritime industry the handling of lithium battery fires was essentially put yourself upwind and let it burn it self out to prevent any exposure. [1]: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-09784-z https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-09784-z
- tgsovlerkhgsel 7y ago
  A lithium-ion battery fire is distinct from a lithium metal fire. (The paper linked here is on li-ion battery fires) Li-ion battery fires are commonly fought with water.
  - Gwypaas 7y ago
    Sorry I was not being clear, I realize that a metallic fire is different from a battery fire. Updated the comment to reflect that. The case we primarily discussed was an EV fire on the car deck of a ro-ro ferry. And the conclusion from the paper is important: "Using water mist resulted in a temporarily increased production rate of HF but the application of water mist had no significant effect on the total amount of released HF." Essentially, our conclusion was don't touch it, if you have to then cool flammable things in the vicinity and as a last resort if things are about to spiral out of control put water on it.
fyfy18 7y ago
As the article says, the fire department used a new approach which was to submerge the car in a pool of water and leave it over night. I'm surprised this didn't cause more issues (I guess the battery wasn't actually damaged or on fire before hand), but it's good to know it works. Still, it needs a lot more equipment than a regular car fire.
- dredalious 7y ago
  Actually, the Belgian fire dept has done that multiple times already. At least once in the Antwerp harbor with a Volkswagen. They where being followed by a tv crew at the time, so it’s well known to the public and we got some explanation as to the reasoning of why they’re doing it like this. (“Helden van hier” S04E08)
  - martin_a 7y ago
    Episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWo8Sb0IE4U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWo8Sb0IE4U
- anextomp 7y ago
  In an electric car the battery is essentially the only part that can catch fire. If there's flames, the battery is already burning and you can't really put it out. The only other thing would be an electric component overheating or shorting, but that would cause a small explosion rather than a continuous fire.

Gwypaas 7y ago

The larger problem is the toxic gases being released.[1] For my latest safety training in the maritime industry the handling of lithium battery fires was essentially put yourself upwind and let it burn it self out to prevent any exposure. [1]: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-09784-z https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-09784-z

tgsovlerkhgsel 7y ago
A lithium-ion battery fire is distinct from a lithium metal fire. (The paper linked here is on li-ion battery fires) Li-ion battery fires are commonly fought with water.
- Gwypaas 7y ago
  Sorry I was not being clear, I realize that a metallic fire is different from a battery fire. Updated the comment to reflect that. The case we primarily discussed was an EV fire on the car deck of a ro-ro ferry. And the conclusion from the paper is important: "Using water mist resulted in a temporarily increased production rate of HF but the application of water mist had no significant effect on the total amount of released HF." Essentially, our conclusion was don't touch it, if you have to then cool flammable things in the vicinity and as a last resort if things are about to spiral out of control put water on it.

fyfy18 7y ago

As the article says, the fire department used a new approach which was to submerge the car in a pool of water and leave it over night. I'm surprised this didn't cause more issues (I guess the battery wasn't actually damaged or on fire before hand), but it's good to know it works. Still, it needs a lot more equipment than a regular car fire.

dredalious 7y ago
Actually, the Belgian fire dept has done that multiple times already. At least once in the Antwerp harbor with a Volkswagen. They where being followed by a tv crew at the time, so it’s well known to the public and we got some explanation as to the reasoning of why they’re doing it like this. (“Helden van hier” S04E08)
- martin_a 7y ago
  Episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWo8Sb0IE4U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWo8Sb0IE4U
anextomp 7y ago
In an electric car the battery is essentially the only part that can catch fire. If there's flames, the battery is already burning and you can't really put it out. The only other thing would be an electric component overheating or shorting, but that would cause a small explosion rather than a continuous fire.