DETROIT (AP) – Electric vehicle fires pose risks to first aid safety and manufacturers ’guidelines on how to deal with them have been inadequate, according to U.S. researchers.
There are also shortcomings in industry safety standards and in research on high-voltage lithium-ion battery fires, especially in high-speed serious crashes, the National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday.
The agency, which has no enforcement powers and can only make recommendations, asked manufacturers to write vehicle-specific response guides to fight battery fires and limit chemical thermal leaks and restarts. 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 introducing multiple models of new electric vehicles, and many in the industry perceive a turning point in switching from gasoline power to cleaner electricity.
The agency, in its report on Wednesday, also called on associations of firefighters and automatic tugs to inform members about the risks of fire and how to deal with the energy left in the battery after a crash and on how to safely store a vehicle with a damaged battery.
And it is asking the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to include the availability of an emergency response guide when calculating the safety scores of five-star vehicles.
NHTSA should also create a coalition to investigate ways to disconnect energy from batteries and reduce the dangers of thermal leakage, a chemical reaction that causes the temperature and pressure of uncontrolled batteries to rise.
The NTSB began investigating battery fires after crashes and fires in Lake Forest and Mountain View, California, and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, in 2017 and 2018. He also investigated a non-accidental fire in West Hollywood, California. Three of the batteries were restarted after putting out the fires.
All four vehicles were manufactured by Tesla, which is the best-selling electric vehicle manufacturer in the United States
“The risks of electric shock and battery restart / fire come from the‘ stuck ’energy that remains 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 veered off a road and crashed into a high-speed residential garage. Thomas Barth, an NTSB engineer and road researcher, said in a video from the agency that firefighters poured thousands of gallons of water into the roof of the vehicle. “They didn’t realize they had to direct water to the battery compartment under the car to cool the battery and stop the reaction that caused the fire,” he said.
In an 80-page report, the NTSB wrote that a review of the emergency response guidelines by 36 manufacturers found that they all had ways to mitigate the risk of high-voltage shocks, including methods to disconnect the battery. But none of the guides talked about limiting the risk of energy stored in batteries, such as procedures to minimize restart or instructions on where and how to spray water to cool batteries, the agency said.
One way to deal with damaged batteries is to take them out of the vehicle and immerse them in a saltwater bath to discharge energy, the NTSB wrote.
The National Fire Protection Association, which provides training to lifeguards and towing companies, said it has already addressed most of the NTSB recommendations. Andrew Klock, senior manager of emerging issues, says the group has conducted training on how to put out battery fires, then lift vehicles and wrap them in water to limit restart.
The NFPA has trained about 250,000 first responders, but there are 1.2 million firefighters nationwide, Klock said.
In a statement, NHTSA said last week it launched a battery safety initiative to address growing concerns about fires from electric vehicles and structures lit by batteries. Under the initiative, the agency will analyze the data, investigate fires and oversee investigations into electric vehicle accidents, the agency said.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a large commercial group of automakers, 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 Wednesday seeking comments from Tesla and the National Fire Protection Association.