- In uncommon instances, flooded electrical automobile batteries can catch hearth and burn
- Eleven EV fires have been confirmed in Florida after Hurricane Ian brought about intensive flooding.
- An EV that has been flooded shouldn’t be pushed till it has been checked out by an authorized technician.
A small variety of electrical automobiles in Florida burst into flame throughout flooding brought on by Hurricane Ian, and the fires are elevating consciousness a couple of beforehand little-known security situation for the hundreds of thousands of People who’ve purchased or are considering of shopping for an EV.
They’re additionally producing political warmth, with some Florida Republican lawmakers calling for extra regulatory oversight for electrical automobiles.
Florida’s State Fireplace Marshal Jimmy Patronis tweeted, “there is a science experiment happening in Florida with EVs and salty storm surge waters.”
However consultants word all automobiles use concentrated energy sources — whether or not gasoline, diesel or electrical energy — making all of them weak to ignition.
Statistics compiled by AutoInsuranceEZ discovered that for each 100,000 EVs there are about 25 fires, in contrast with 1,530 automobile fires in the identical variety of gas-powered automobiles. Fuel-powered automobiles sometimes catch hearth attributable to gasoline leaks or crashes.
This is what to know concerning the fires in Florida:
What occurred to flooded EVs in Florida?
Hurricane Ian struck Florida’s Gulf Coast on Sept. 28, killing a minimum of 136 individuals, inflicting catastrophic harm value greater than $50 billion and flooding massive areas.
The storm’s floodwaters additionally brought about a minimum of 11 electrical automobiles to catch hearth.
As of Oct. 26, USA TODAY has been capable of affirm 11 instances wherein EVs caught hearth in Florida after flooding from Ian, all believed to be because of the automobiles’ battery packs shorting out after being submerged in saltwater or bodily harm to the batteries in the course of the flooding.
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Six of the fires had been reported by the North Collier Fireplace Rescue District based mostly in Naples, Florida, and one other 4 by different Collier County hearth departments, mentioned Heather Mazurkiewicz, public info officer with the North Collier Fireplace Management Rescue District. One extra hearth was reported in Sanibel Island by the Sanibel Island Fireplace and Rescue District.
No deaths have been linked to the fires. The Sanibel Island incident brought about a hearth that gutted the home the automobile was parked in and the one subsequent door. There have been no experiences of electrocutions linked to flooded electrical automobiles.
Whereas the hazard of fireside attributable to flooding in EVs has been recognized to consultants since a minimum of Superstorm Sandy in 2012, Hurricane Ian has put the situation entrance and middle for the general public.
“That is actually the primary time we had flooding in an space with numerous electrical automobiles,” mentioned Jon Linkov, deputy auto editor for Client Stories. Florida has the second-highest variety of EVs within the nation after California.
People have had greater than 100 years to get used to the security points gas-powered automobiles can pose. Now there’s a studying curve for automobiles powered by batteries, mentioned Thomas Barth, chief of the particular investigations department of freeway security on the Nationwide Transportation Security Board.
“I do not wish to give the impression the sky is falling,” he mentioned. “However they’ve their very own set of risks.”
Why do flooded EVs catch hearth?
If an electrical automobile’s battery is broken by a collision or water intrusion from a flood, a brief circuit can happen, which causes the cell to discharge vitality and warmth up. This will result in an occasion referred to as “thermal runaway,” wherein the warmth propagates from one cell to the subsequent, inflicting them to burn.
In a small variety of instances when an EV is submerged in water, contaminants or salt within the water may cause short-circuiting, particularly after the water drains from the battery.
Automobiles or batteries which have been broken even have the potential for short-circuiting to happen attributable to motion of the automobile or battery, for instance when it is being loaded or unloaded from a tow truck.
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Warmth generated from a hearth, thermal runaway of an adjoining cell, or shorting of the battery can soften the porous membrane between the battery’s cathode and anode, inflicting this cell to enter thermal runaway. The warmth causes the cell to vent flammable fuel, which might ignite and catch hearth.
“That warmth can get transferred to the subsequent cell and it will possibly turn into a sequence response,” mentioned Barth.
“You probably have a broken lithium-ion battery and it has vitality which stays within the battery pack, we name that stranded vitality,” he mentioned. “If you happen to provoke a thermal runaway or venting of the flammable fuel, the battery can ignite.”
Did a excessive share of the EVs in Florida burn?
Social media posts claiming EVs catch hearth “usually” overstate the issue, say consultants.
Collier county, which incorporates town of Naples, had 2,490 electrical automobiles registered as of July 2021, mentioned Stan Cross, electrical transportation coverage director for the Southern Alliance for Clear Vitality.
That will imply a fraction of a % of the EVs within the county caught hearth after the flooding.
In Lee county, the place Sanibel Island is positioned, there have been 2,683 EVs registered final 12 months. The one EV that burned there would imply lower than 0.04% of the electrical automobiles within the county caught hearth.
There was additionally a report by the native paper, the Island Reporter, that a number of flooded electrical golf carts at The Dunes Golf & Tennis Membership additionally caught hearth, on Oct. 16.
What ought to I do with a flooded EV?
Electrical corrosion might not be seen, and an EV can expertise thermal runaway hours and even days after flood waters recede.
This implies flooded EVs parked in garages or carports subsequent to properties needs to be moved away from buildings. These automobiles shouldn’t be pushed however should be towed. Consultants cautioned that no automobile, whether or not electrical of gas-powered, needs to be pushed after flooding till it has been checked out by an expert.
“No highway automobile needs to be thought-about roadworthy after saltwater flooding, whether or not it is an EV or anything,” mentioned Haresh Kamath, director of distributed vitality sources on the Electrical Energy Analysis Institute in Palo Alto, Calif. “If you happen to’ve skilled saltwater flooding, you shouldn’t be driving or making an attempt to drive and even begin that automobile. You should not be moving into the automobile.”
On Sanibel Island, which was closely broken by Ian, Sanibel Fireplace Rescue District crews have towed between 20 and 25 electrical automobiles from garages or underneath residences to forestall potential construction fires, the company mentioned in a Fb put up.
The automobiles are being moved a minimum of 15 toes away from buildings.
Are EV fires onerous to place out?
EV fires are tougher to place out than ones in gasoline-powered automobiles and require completely different firefighting strategies, say consultants.
Firefighters are already coaching on tips on how to cope with EV battery fires, mentioned Andrew Klock, senior supervisor of product and improvement for the Nationwide Fireplace Safety Affiliation.
The most important distinction is that an EV hearth can’t be put out with the kind of firefighting foam used to smother different fires. As a substitute, the battery should be cooled to cease the hearth and finish thermal runaway, he mentioned.
“Lithium-ion batteries generate their very own warmth and oxygen,” mentioned Klock. To cease the hearth requires placing water on the battery case to chill it.
Most EV batteries are beneath the automobile, so pouring water on high of the automobile or within the engine compartment just isn’t useful, he mentioned.
“You want to get the water beneath,” mentioned Klock, whose group supplies coaching supplies for hearth departments on tips on how to cope with all kinds of fires.
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All automobile and truck producers are already required to create emergency response guides for first responders on tips on how to cope with the whole lot from safely extricating somebody from a crashed automobile to high-voltage disconnect directions.
A 2020 report by the Nationwide Transportation Security Board discovered that extra details about coping with battery fires was wanted.
“We’ve had glorious response from that steering, numerous the automobile producers have rewritten their emergency response guides or are within the means of doing that,” Barth mentioned.
As well as, a gaggle of federal, state and personal firm consultants has come collectively to deal with the problem of EVs and hurricanes and are engaged on it now, he mentioned.
Aren’t there protections constructed into the batteries?
EV batteries are particularly engineered to make thermal runaway “very, very uncommon,” mentioned Kamath.
“The protection methods inside a lithium-ion battery typically forestall that sort of factor taking place until there’s some vital bodily harm to that battery,” mentioned Kamath, who has labored on battery points for greater than 20 years.
Within the case of a crash, fashionable electrical automobiles are designed with fuses which are triggered if the airbags deploy, mentioned Barth.
“Primarily, they’re reducing the excessive voltage strains to the motor that turns the wheel,” he mentioned. “If you happen to crash, you do not need the excessive voltage strains powered up that would energize the chassis and shock somebody.”
EV batteries are designed with seals to guard in opposition to water intrusion, mentioned Stu Fowle, a communications director with Common Motors.
“Our exams embody extraordinarily dry circumstances and water submersions to simulate flooding, validating the security and isolation of methods,” he mentioned in an announcement to USA TODAY.
The truth that solely eleven EV fires have been related to Hurricane Ian is telling, mentioned Marc Geller, with the Electrical Car Affiliation.
“If a ton of flooded EVs had been catching hearth, we might actually hear about it,” he mentioned.
Is it secure to cost an EV in a flooded space?
If the automobile itself wasn’t flooded, then sure, it’s secure to cost.
If the charging station flooded, it should not be used – and won’t work, mentioned consultants. The protection mechanisms constructed into any system that flooded ought to have robotically shut it off, mentioned Kamath.
“They’ve carried out numerous engineering to guarantee that within the occasion of flooding or one thing that might intervene with the operation, the system shuts down,” he mentioned.
Are flooded standard automobiles okay?
No automobile, whether or not powered by gasoline or a battery, is secure to drive after being flooded, a number of consultants warned.
“Identical to flooding is the top of the highway for a gasoline-powered automobile, it’s the top for electrical automobiles too,” mentioned Brian Moody, govt editor for Autotrader.
“Lots of the similar issues that plague a gasoline-powered automobile are a difficulty regardless of how the automobile is powered. The sprint, gauges, heating system, brakes, wiring, seats, radio, touchscreen, all these elements will probably be ruined by water, particularly salt water,” he mentioned.
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Electrical automobiles are more and more in style in america, reaching a document 5.6% of all new automobiles offered in america within the third quarter of 2022, in response to Kelley Blue E book. In 2021, there have been 321,546 EVs offered within the U.S. Thus far this 12 months the quantity stands at 546,664, in response to Kelley Blue E book.
Estimates put the variety of electrical automobiles on U.S. roads at someplace between one and two million. That is a far cry from the 286 million whole automobiles registered, however does imply an growing variety of People are driving battery-powered automobiles. There is a studying curve, say consultants.
Florida has the second-highest focus of electrical automobiles after California, mentioned Cross. Because the state, and the nation, face the opportunity of extra floods, getting new EV house owners in control will probably be crucial.
Most People grew up with gas-powered automobiles and have a minimum of some understanding of their risks — even when it is solely having seen motion pictures the place a fuel leak from the tank of a broken automobile precedes a billowing cloud of flame.
With so many new EVs on the highway, and drivers new to electrical automobiles, studying about their variations is essential.
“With all new applied sciences, there will probably be issues to work out. With EVs, although the issues are few, they’re headline-catching and life and property-threatening,” mentioned Cross. “You may’t conceal from that. It is an issue, it must be addressed.”
Elizabeth Weise covers local weather and environmental points for USA TODAY. She could be reached at eweise@usatoday.com.
