Vehicle Fire
FirefightingWARNING: When a fire is involved,
consider the entire vehicle to be
energized. Always wear full personal
protective equipment (PPE), including
a self-contained breathing apparatus
(SCBA).WARNING: Extinguishing any vehicle
fire is best accomplished by
firefighting professionals. Contact
your local authorities or fire
department for help.
A vehicle battery fire presents a risk of
exposure to high heat or toxic gases. It
can take copious amounts of water applied
directly to the battery to extinguish and cool a
battery fire. Establish or request an additional
water supply from nearby sources.
In the absence of a water supply, use dry
chemicals, such as Carbon dioxide (CO2), foam, or any other typical fire-extinguishing
agent, to fight the fire until a water supply is
available.
Extinguishing smaller fires that do not involve
a high-voltage battery follows the standard
firefighting procedures.
A burning or a heated battery releases toxic
vapors. Responders should always protect
themselves with full PPE (including a SCBA)
and take appropriate measures to protect
civilians from the incident. Use fog streams
or positive-pressure ventilation fans (PPV) to
direct smoke and vapors away from other
responders and civilians.
After knock down
Make sure any fires are knocked down before
entering a hot zone. Heat combined with
flames can compromise the airbag inflators,
stored gas inflation cylinders, gas struts, and
other components, resulting in an unexpected
explosion.
During vehicle inspections, always use
insulated tools and do not make contact with
any high-voltage components.
Use a thermal imaging camera to measure the temperature of the high-voltage battery
and monitor heating or cooling trends.
Before releasing the vehicle to second
responders (such as law enforcement or vehicle transporters) or otherwise leaving the
incident, completely cool the battery with no
fire, smoke, or heating present for at least one
hour. Always notify second responders of the
risk of battery re-ignition.Roadside Assistance & Emergency Information201
