Firefighting and science: Electric vehicle battery fire

In this video I am walking through reports and knowledge about extinguishing lithium ion batterys in vehicles. I have from this knowledge suggested methods to handle this kind of fires depending on where in the vehicle the fire is and where the vehicle is. The video is made in cooperation with Uppsala Fire Brigade.

I got a response that the parts where I am talking about cooling of the battery is wrong. Brock Archer is making some good arguments. Look at that here: https://youtu.be/9DEAqjneZD8

One observation I have made is that most manufacturers, except Renault, in their advice to firefighters are either wrong or to vague to be of any help. There might be more companys than Renault that have good advice, please enlighten me about that if you know any. po@utkiken.net

The short version of the video is that you need to get a wet extinguishing agent inside the battery housing to be able to stop the propagation of the thermal runaway and thereby stopping the fire in the battery. If you cant get wet stuff into the casing, and the battery is burning, then I think it is better to protect exposures and let the battery burn out. Of course there is always occasions when this does not apply so dont take my advice as something that should always be done. A good commander with knowledge about battery fires, tactics, health and safety etc is vital to understand the situation and make good calls.

This video was recorded in september 2020 and since it is a fast evolving area of expertise you must be aware that there is an expiration date on what I say. Maybe not the science behind it, but the interpretation of the science.

I would very much appreciate your thoughts and questions on the video. Also let me know if you disagree with my conclusions. I am eager to learn if you have any other inputs that could help us make safe and efficient operations on battery electric vehicle. Email me at po@utkiken.net