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DETROIT (AP) – Electric vehicle fires pose safety risks to first responders, and manufacturers’ guidelines on how to deal with them are inadequate, US investigators say.
There are also gaps in industry safety standards and research into high-voltage lithium-ion battery fires, especially in high-speed and severe accidents, the National Transportation Safety Board said on Wednesday.
The agency, which has no enforcement powers and can only make recommendations, called on manufacturers to write vehicle-specific intervention guides to fight battery fires and limit thermal runaway and reigniting chemicals. The guidelines should also include information on how to safely store vehicles with damaged lithium-ion batteries.
The recommendations come at a time when automakers are rolling out several new models of electric vehicles, with many industry players seeing an inflection point in switching from gasoline to cleaner electricity.
The agency, in its report on Wednesday, also called on firefighters and auto towing associations to educate members of the fire hazards and how to manage the remaining battery power after a crash, and on how to safely store a vehicle with a damaged battery.
And he’s asking the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to include the availability of an emergency response guide when calculating five-star vehicle safety scores.
NHTSA is also expected to form a coalition to seek ways to de-energize batteries and reduce the risk of thermal runaway, a chemical reaction that causes uncontrolled increases in battery temperature and pressure.
The NTSB has begun investigating battery fires after accidents and fires in Lake Forest and Mountain View, Calif., And Fort. Lauderdale, Florida in 2017 and 2018. He also investigated a non-accidental fire in West Hollywood, California. Three of the batteries reignited after the fires were extinguished.
All four vehicles were manufactured by Tesla, the best-selling electric vehicle maker in the United States.
“The risks of electric shock and battery reignition / fire come from ‘stuck’ energy left in a damaged battery,” the agency said.
In the August 2017 fire in Lake Forest, a Tesla Model X battery caught fire after the vehicle left a road and crashed into a residential garage at high speed. Thomas Barth, NTSB engineer and highway investigator, said in an agency video that the firefighters poured thousands of gallons of water on the roof of the vehicle. “They didn’t know they had to direct water at the battery compartment under the car to cool the battery and stop the reaction causing the fire,” he said.
In an 80-page report, the NTSB wrote that a review of emergency response guidelines from 36 manufacturers found that all had ways to mitigate the risk of high-voltage shocks, including methods for disconnecting battery. But none of the guides talked about limiting the risk of energy stored in batteries, such as procedures to minimize re-ignition or instructions on where and how to spray water to cool the batteries, the agency said.
One way to deal with damaged batteries is to remove them from the vehicle and soak them in a saltwater bath to discharge the energy, the NTSB wrote.
The National Fire Protection Association, which provides training for first responders and towing companies, said it has already responded to most of the NTSB’s recommendations. Andrew Klock, senior manager of emerging issues, said the group had conducted training on how to put out battery fires, then lift vehicles and spray batteries with water to limit reignition.
The NFPA has trained about 250,000 first responders, but there are 1.2 million firefighters across the country, Klock said.
In a statement, NHTSA said last week it launched a battery safety initiative to address growing concerns about fires in electric vehicles and structures ignited by batteries. As part of the initiative, the agency will analyze data, investigate fires and oversee electric vehicle accident investigations, the agency said.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a large trade group of automotive manufacturers, said it will review the recommendations and work with fire associations, NHTSA, the Society of Automotive Engineers and others to improve safety.
Messages were left on Wednesday soliciting comment from Tesla and the National Fire Protection Association.
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