When hurricanes like Helen and Milton hit coastal areas, already strained first responders faced new and growing demands on electric cars, e-bikes, and lithium-ion batteries to power a myriad of devices. face the threat of If exposed to salty water from a storm surge, there is a risk that it will explode and burn down your entire home.
“Anything that is lithium-ion and exposed to salt water can be problematic, and the larger the battery, the greater the threat,” said Seminole, Fla., Fire Chief Bill Morelli. That’s what makes EVs especially dangerous. “[The problem] It has expanded as it has become more and more popular. ”
It’s not yet clear how many vehicles were set ablaze after Hurricane Milton hit Siesta Key on Wednesday, killing at least 16 people and leaving about 80,000 people in evacuation centers. but, 48 battery fires confirmed They were related to storm surge from Hurricane Helen, and 11 of them were related to EVs.
Morelli’s crew fought three of them. The St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue Service has reported at least two incidents, one caused by an electric bicycle and the other by a Mercedes-Benz EQB300, with a representative from the fire department saying there was “significant damage to houses.” It is said that he brought it. CNN and others reported on a fire caused by a Tesla Model X in Sarasota.
All in all, fires like this are far from common. The Idaho National Laboratory estimates that of the 3,000 to 5,000 electric vehicles damaged by Hurricane Ian in 2022, approximately Three dozen were affected by the fire.. Since then, public awareness of the risk has grown, with officials from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on urging residents to move their electric vehicles to higher ground in case of a storm. However, the chemistry and structure of lithium-ion batteries makes them particularly prone to fires, which can be difficult for first responders to deal with.
“They burn hot, fast, and are difficult to put out,” Morelli said.
EV batteries are made up of thousands of cells, stacked and packed in a sealed enclosure. If salt water, which is particularly conductive, reaches the inside of a battery, it can cause a short circuit, creating excess heat that can hop from cell to cell. “This is called ‘thermal runaway,'” says Andrew Klock, senior manager of education development at the National Fire Protection Association.
When a battery heats up, it produces flammable gases that can ignite. Once the car starts burning, traditional vehicle fire suppression methods, such as foam and thermal blankets to extinguish the flames, are not very effective. “Lithium-ion batteries generate their own oxygen and heat when ignited,” Kroc said. “You can’t put out the fire.”
Instead, first responders should pour as much water as possible directly onto the battery pack to reduce the heat. The International Association of Fire Chiefs recommends stockpiling between 3,000 and 8,000 gallons, but stockpiling can be difficult during disasters because hydrants may not function properly and trucks can only carry a limited amount of stock. .
“We need a lot of water to extinguish the fire,” Morelli said, adding that he is working with other departments to obtain more thermal blankets. If they were in place, firefighters could extinguish the flames enough to move the car away from the structure and burn it out safely.
Kroc said “training is paramount” to effectively extinguish these fires. However, of the approximately 1.2 million firefighters in Japan, only about 350,000 have completed the association’s training. “There’s a lot of work to do.”
The danger doesn’t end when the storm passes. According to the Ministry of TransportOne reason is that “the time it takes for a damaged battery to catch fire varies from days to weeks.” Tesla calls out to owners Do not drive the vehicle until it has been inspected by the dealer.
The Automotive Innovation Alliance, which represents 44 automakers and suppliers, declined to comment. Letter sent to Republican Sen. Rick Scott “Safety is a top priority for our members, which is why they have engaged in long-standing efforts to address the fire risks of both conventional fuel vehicles and EVs,” the report said.
Meanwhile, various efforts are underway to prevent such fires from occurring. The Federal Emergency Management Agency funded the following research. New dangers of home battery storage systems. Other researchers, including Yang Yang, an associate professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Central Florida, are looking at ways to make batteries safer. his team developed a battery Instead of fighting salt water, it uses it as its main electrolyte.
“It can be submerged in salt water,” said Yang, who began working on the project after living in Houston and Florida and seeing flooding problems first hand. Although he has not yet heard from car companies about his research, he is optimistic that safer batteries could be brought to market within the next few years.
Until then, storms like Helen and Milton may be the biggest factor in drawing public attention to both the problem and prevention methods. Yang finds that possibility bittersweet at best. “We don’t want people to have any problems with electric cars.”
This story has been updated.
