Vehicle Fires/Deaths

[Hawk_82]

Are there any firefighters/first responders out there that can give personal experiences fighting electric vehicle fires vs gas vehicle fires?

This is not meant to be political, I am just looking for first hand accounts.

It looks like electric vehicles start on fire less than gas vehicles, but when electric vehicles start on fire, they go up in spectacular fashion. However, I see the death rates due to vehicle fires are on the rise. The death rates correlate with the rise in electric vehicle sales, but I can't find anywhere showing evs are the specific cause of the increased deaths.

Vehicle fires:
3474 per 100,000 vehicles: hybrid vehicles
1529 per 100,000 vehicles: gas vehicles
25.1 per 100,000 vehicles: electric vehicles

EV fire incident rates are still not fully know and it is possible that fire rates may increase as batteries become older but remain in use, but this remains to be seen.

Ford F-150 Lightning fire footage highlights a growing EV risk

Fires involving EV batteries can burn hotter and longer and require new techniques to extinguish, posing a growing challenge to first responders.

www.cnbc.com

Electric vehicles burn hotter, last longer and are harder to extinguish than gas fires. They can re-ignite multiple times even after the fire has been put out. EVs require significantly more water to extinguish and the water may be considered hazardous which requires additional cleanup.

Electric vehicles can spontaneously start on fire while charging in the garage and thus cause a house fire, gas cars usually start on fire after a collision or due to a wiring issue.

A major concern is whether first responders have the training and equipment to deal with electric vehicle fires.

Fires are also occurring in e-bikes and scooters as well.

Have any of the first responders on this board seen any trends related to fires? Is there anything to worry about with electric vehicles? or is this all for nothing.

Vehicle fires
https://www.statista.com/statistics/377006/nmber-of-us-highway-vehicle-fires/

Deaths caused by vehicle fires
https://www.statista.com/statistics/377009/us-highway-vehicle-fires-civilian-deaths/

 

[JRHawk2003]

and vape pens

 

[cfbfan23]

They do burn a lot hotter. Often times, firefighters just have to let it burn itself out. They will do more damage to the road, itself. So there's a cost to that, as well.

On the flipside, as you've pointed out, a gas-powered engine is 61 times more likely to catch fire. The combustion engine lives up to its name.

Personally, when it comes to the likelihood of a vehicle catching fire as well as the potential damage done in the fire, I'd feel safer in an EV. That's just me. If the vehicle was 100% destined to catch fire, I'd prefer driving the gas-powered car over the EV.

 

[Colonoscopy]

What's the deal with hybrids... Worst of both?

 

[Hawk_82]

They do burn a lot hotter. Often times, firefighters just have to let it burn itself out. They will do more damage to the road, itself. So there's a cost to that, as well.

On the flipside, as you've pointed out, a gas-powered engine is 61 times more likely to catch fire. The combustion engine lives up to its name.

Personally, when it comes to the likelihood of a vehicle catching fire as well as the potential damage done in the fire, I'd feel safer in an EV. That's just me. If the vehicle was 100% destined to catch fire, I'd prefer driving the gas-powered car over the EV.

Do you think EVs will start catching on fire more once we have older batteries and older wiring in use? Right now most people who own EVs are financially well off and are more likely to maintain their vehicle appropriately. Will this change when people don't maintain their cars/batteries properly? (I have no idea, but I am inclined to think rates will go up).

 

[cfbfan23]

Do you think EVs will start catching on fire more once we have older batteries and older wiring in use? Right now most people who own EVs are financially well off and are more likely to maintain their vehicle appropriately. Will this change when people don't maintain their cars/batteries properly? (I have no idea, but I am inclined to think rates will go up).

Tesla's got more that a ten-year track record, so the numbers might change, but even if it got 4 times worse, it would still be 15+ times more likely that an ICE would catch fire.

What do you mean by maintaining your battery in an EV? How would you maintain an EV battery?

 

[Hawk_82]

Tesla's got more that a ten-year track record, so the numbers might change, but even if it got 4 times worse, it would still be 15+ times more likely that an ICE would catch fire.

What do you mean by maintaining your battery in an EV? How would you maintain an EV battery?

By "maintaining your battery" I meant taking your car to a dealer to get checked out once the battery starts to not hold a charge or when you start to see indicators that may signal a problem could happen. Or checking the battery connections to ensure they are not corroded. I know very little about electric vehicles, so I could be totally wrong about this.

 

[cfbfan23]

By "maintaining your battery" I meant taking your car to a dealer to get checked out once the battery starts to not hold a charge or when you start to see indicators that may signal a problem could happen. Or checking the battery connections to ensure they are not corroded. I know very little about electric vehicles, so I could be totally wrong about this.

I'm no expert in it, either, but it sounds like you're referring more to battery maintenance on an ICE vehicle, not an EV.

 

[Hawkeyenuts66]

Are there any firefighters/first responders out there that can give personal experiences fighting electric vehicle fires vs gas vehicle fires?

This is not meant to be political, I am just looking for first hand accounts.

It looks like electric vehicles start on fire less than gas vehicles, but when electric vehicles start on fire, they go up in spectacular fashion. However, I see the death rates due to vehicle fires are on the rise. The death rates correlate with the rise in electric vehicle sales, but I can't find anywhere showing evs are the specific cause of the increased deaths.

Vehicle fires:
3474 per 100,000 vehicles: hybrid vehicles
1529 per 100,000 vehicles: gas vehicles
25.1 per 100,000 vehicles: electric vehicles

EV fire incident rates are still not fully know and it is possible that fire rates may increase as batteries become older but remain in use, but this remains to be seen.

Ford F-150 Lightning fire footage highlights a growing EV risk

Fires involving EV batteries can burn hotter and longer and require new techniques to extinguish, posing a growing challenge to first responders.

www.cnbc.com

Electric vehicles burn hotter, last longer and are harder to extinguish than gas fires. They can re-ignite multiple times even after the fire has been put out. EVs require significantly more water to extinguish and the water may be considered hazardous which requires additional cleanup.

Electric vehicles can spontaneously start on fire while charging in the garage and thus cause a house fire, gas cars usually start on fire after a collision or due to a wiring issue.

A major concern is whether first responders have the training and equipment to deal with electric vehicle fires.

Fires are also occurring in e-bikes and scooters as well.

Have any of the first responders on this board seen any trends related to fires? Is there anything to worry about with electric vehicles? or is this all for nothing.

Vehicle fires
https://www.statista.com/statistics/377006/nmber-of-us-highway-vehicle-fires/

Deaths caused by vehicle fires
https://www.statista.com/statistics/377009/us-highway-vehicle-fires-civilian-deaths/

I'm glad EVs came after my time fighting fires. I would much rather fight a gasoline fire than a lithium battery fire. While gasoline vapor is highly flammable, the gasses released from a burning lithium battery is extremely flammable and highly toxic. The challenge is to keep the public a safe distance away.

 

[jamesvanderwulf]

E bike shop in NYC caught a battery fire and killed 4 peoples in the last week...