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strcrssd t1_iuevnax wrote

Reply to comment by [deleted] in Electric vehicles catch aflame during Ian aftermath by sacrificezones

No, it's not true. It fundamentally misunderstands lithium ion battery technology and the very basics of chemistry.

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morcantium t1_iufcjbc wrote

I agree, it's not true about water acting like gasoline with lithium fires. But it is true they are hard to extinguish. Water doesn't make a lithium fire worse but neither will it extinguish the fire. You've got to spray water on the batteries for up to 90 minutes until the batteries burn out to keep the area cooled off. Or just let it burn and keep people away if that's a feasible option. An electric car can take 20,000 gallons of water (or more) before the fire goes out depending on battery size. They've now got fire blankets designed to contain these fires to help protect surrounding vehicles/buildings but good luck getting close enough to fit one around a burning vehicle. Source: I just went on a firefighters safety course on electric car fires.

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strcrssd t1_iuglzll wrote

Agreed. They're much less likely to catch fire, but when they do they're difficult to put out.

As another commentator posted, fire brigades that deal with a lot of EVs are investigating using water tanks/pools and just lifting the burning vehicles into the water to drown the fire.

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