by Brad Winger
Assistant State Emergency Teams Coordinator
Since electricity is usually included in the monthly on-campus college housing fee, some students have discovered a novel means of making a little cash. Taking their friends' EV scooter batteries and charging them in their dormitory rooms, they can make up to $5 per day per battery, battery pack, or lithium-ion powered device. Now multiply this by dozens of battery packs charged daily and that amounts to a pretty lucrative business. A student in New York was making up to $200 a day — more than enough to buy a few Diet Cokes from a vending machine and pay for the use of dormitory washers and dryers.
While this may seem innocent, the concern comes when a battery pack catches fire. A condition known as the “thermal runway" has made the news among first responder organizations around the nation. While charging, the circuit that regulates the charge voltage can malfunction and cause a pack to catch fire, exposing the “soft" metals and chemicals inside. These fires are difficult to extinguish, and with a large group of batteries nearby, the entire operation may result in a massive fire.
A related concern is the liberation of dangerous gasses such as hydrogen fluoride, which can cause severe burns to the eyes and skin or be fatal if inhaled. Fire inspectors need to be on the lookout for these types of operations and be aware of the concerns.
Since the popularity of EV cars such as Tesla has risen, a new concern has plagued local first responders. What do you do when they catch fire? A gasoline-powered vehicle fire can typically be put out with a few hundred gallons of water. The new EV cars may need as much as 40,000 gallons of water due to the unique construction of the battery material. These fires require copious amounts of water, and most fire trucks may only carry 500 - 1,000 gallons at a time. Several companies have developed containment boxes in which to place EV vehicles that are on fire. Once inside, they are submerged, brought to a local lot and left until the fire is extinguished. The vehicle is left in there for one to two weeks until they can be safely removed. As we move toward the future with electric vehicles, fire departments worldwide are looking for new ways to extinguish these difficult vehicle fires.
