Jake Holmes asks one fire safety expert for advice on how to prevent and contain lithium-ion battery fires
Where batteries are concerned, increasingly sophisticated and high-functioning technology calls for ever greater safety considerations, as the potential downsides of failure are now far greater due to their increased power and capabilities.
Increasing safety is not just important for personnel safety but can also prevent further damage to factories and other assets in the immediate vicinity. With the uptake in battery technology, the importance of understanding lithium battery fires is growing, alongside mounting emphasis on how to prevent these fires altogether.
Matt Humby, senior technical consultant at Firechief Global, believes education around the topic will help reduce the risk of fires and offers knowledge on best practices on how to best prevent and subsequently deal with a lithium battery fire.
During his speech at Battery Tech Expo at Silverstone, Humby displayed a video demonstrating the dangers of disposing of batteries in normal bins which showed a fire igniting in a disposal lorry, saying gravely, “We are trying to get the message across about the risks of lithium-ion fires.”
UNDERSTANDING THE FLAME
Firstly, understanding the risks and potential causes of Lithium-ion fires is crucial to fighting them. With this in mind, Firechief has laid out an eight-step plan. Step one is to educate people and businesses about the risks of lithium-ion fires, ensuring they know best procedures to follow. Following this, assessments must be made to evaluate the risk in the environment and organisation.
Ian Poole, sales director at Firechief Global, says: “We have developed an eight-step halo plan which is based on a hierarchy of controls and is based around lithium fires. Because there is no one silver bullet for lithium-ion fires, you have to assess the risk, understand the big picture, and take a holistic view.”
Step three is to segregate the batteries from people and combustibles, and step four is to control any fires if they break out. The first half makes up the proactive actions that can be taken to deal with a lithium-ion fire.
Reactive actions include steps five to eight, which include training people how to deal with fires, suppressing the flame, acting in a timely manner, and containing the fire and allowing it to burn out.
DANGERS OF DAMAGE
Despite the seriousness of his presentation, Humby was quick to show his admiration for lithium-ion batteries, stating his love for technology and how the ever-growing world of electric vehicles, powered by batteries, will help combat the 30% of world emissions caused by transport vehicles.
He advises: “If you are a business, get people to report damaged laptops or damaged mobile phones, because you do not want to mess around with batteries if they are damaged. We’ve seen laptops go into thermal runaway. Employees drop a laptop, they put it on charge, they don’t tell anyone, leave it overnight, and they don’t have an office in the morning.”
A small penetration in a battery unit can lead to large explosions and fires, much larger than the size of the battery would suggest. The example Humby showed was with a mobile phone penetration; when the battery is large, the effect is larger.
Humby spoke about an event in America where a defective electric vehicle was being delivered in a trailer, and the thermal runaway event blew the door off the trailer. The responders were unable to combat the fire with any traditional means, such as water or fire extinguishers.
DAMAGE CONTROL
Lithium-ion fires can’t be extinguished with such conventional means, as they are a chemical process rather than a ‘fire’ the biggest factor becomes mitigating risk. A lithium battery in a thermal event can launch projectiles to a range of 30 to 40 feet, according to Poole. Using blankets can alleviate this risk, as they can contain not only the fire but also limit any shrapnel, preventing damage to objects and, more importantly, people.
Poole adds: “We have developed a range of blankets, we have developed a pallet cover for transport storage. These products have gone through the new German 9489 standard which is based around lithium-ion battery fires for electric vehicles. Our products have gone through that test and passed. All our products go through independent testing.”
German standard 9489 is currently being used as there is no present British standard for lithium-ion firefighting, but a standard is said to be on its way.
COURSE OF ACTION
The introduction of standardised testing and regulations surrounding batteries are needed, along with lithium-ion firefighting equipment. Lithium-ion fires are rare, but severe when they occur.
Fire departments and experts currently believe containing a fire with a blanket and allowing the fire to burn out naturally is the best way to deal with them, but this all depends on the exact situation in which the fire occurs.
Ultimately, being informed, aware, and following the correct procedures mitigates the risk of a lithium-ion fire occurring and the damage it can cause if it does happen.
