Over 36,000 gallons of water used for
electric vehicle fire on I-65
WSFA.com,
by
Staff
&
Sally Pitts
Original Article
Posted By: BamaMan,
12/27/2023 10:47:13 AM
An electric vehicle crashed and caught fire Monday night in Autauga County.
According to the Pine Level Fire Department, units were called to a traffic accident with a vehicle fire around 11:15 p.m.
(snip) There is technology that can help reduce the amount of water needed to put out an electric car fire, but the chief said it is too expensive for the volunteer fire department.
“The device that Montgomery fire department has is about $35,000. That’s over a third of my budget each year. And that’s just undoable for us right now,” he said.
Worcester discussed the lithium batteries such vehicles use, saying they can be damaged and emit toxic gases
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Reply 1 - Posted by:
mean Gene 12/27/2023 11:22:40 AM (No. 1625023)
What's next?
Will individual counties outlaw electric vehicles?
Three EV fires and the county's fire budget is busted!
9 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
RobertJ984 12/27/2023 11:23:13 AM (No. 1625026)
All of that from one battery. What happens if an entire battery FACTORY goes up in flames?
19 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
red1066 12/27/2023 11:49:25 AM (No. 1625050)
All this and it doesn't even add in the cost to repair the road. Those fires melt the asphalt because of the intense heat and the length of time it takes to put out the fire.
17 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Rumblehog 12/27/2023 12:01:39 PM (No. 1625061)
Hey, that's clean water that could save an illegal's life in the Sonoran desert! /s
6 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
smaricic 12/27/2023 12:28:25 PM (No. 1625080)
An idea -- maybe not a good idea: develop a large "dome of containment" like the old "dome of silence" on Get Smart. It should be made of fire-resistant material (if such a thing exists). It should be bigger than a Grand Caravan, but light enough for a State Police helicopter to ferry it. Let a chopper lower it right onto the burning car, or close onto the highway if that is not possible (in which case cranes could finish the job). The dome should have ports for shooting fire-retardant sprays into it. Kevlar jacket on the outside in case the car blows up. If the flaming battery is in a truck, we're gonna need a bigger helicopter.
3 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Heil Liberals 12/27/2023 12:39:45 PM (No. 1625090)
Poster #3 is right. The temperature of these lithium based fires can reach over 3,000º F. This will not only damage asphalt, but the concrete surface as well. Perhaps the most difficult of dealing with these is that there is no warning, unlike gasoline which can leave a stream and odor before igniting. Likewise, disconnecting the power source does not eliminate the possibility of thermal runaway hours, days, or weeks later.
We are only getting a glimpse into the issues these power sources can and will cause as their numbers increase.
9 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Ida Lou Pino 12/27/2023 1:43:08 PM (No. 1625151)
Why don't they use one of those big windmills to put the fire out?
Once again - - I've come up with a simple solution - - which none of the leftist "geniuses" could think of.
8 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
Venturer 12/27/2023 2:52:54 PM (No. 1625184)
Get as much as you can away from the flames and let the thing burn itself out.
I was reading that they don't allow these battery powered over expensive vehicles on the ferries overseas because they cannot be put out and would destroy the ferry.
5 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
thefield 12/27/2023 3:59:43 PM (No. 1625213)
The solution is very easy have the county and fired departments sue the daylights out of the battery manufactures for selling a known dangerous product.
3 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Hermit_Crab 12/27/2023 4:56:07 PM (No. 1625227)
All these fire chiefs and 'safety experts' should take a basic chemistry course.
When you put water on lithium, it creates hydrogen; A highly flammable gas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxqe_ZOwsHs
Remember the Hindenburg? (well, few people do since it occurred in 1937, but they could do an internet search if their education is lacking.)
You want to put out a lithium fire on the cheap? Throw sand on it until it is buried enough to shut off the oxygen flow. Not water.
8 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Bur Oak 12/27/2023 4:56:29 PM (No. 1625228)
Water only intensifies a lithium fire. It is best to use the water to prevent fires of the surrounding area.
2 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
Calico Al 12/27/2023 5:33:05 PM (No. 1625237)
Imagine if an EV caught fire in one of NYCs tunnels or bridges.
3 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
Terry_tr6 12/27/2023 6:16:49 PM (No. 1625248)
You cannot "snuff" out a lithium battery fire by covering it with sand or putting some kind of cover over it.
It generates it's own oxygen. So all you can do is try to keep it from spreading and try to cool it with water until it burns itself up.
3 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
Hermit_Crab 12/27/2023 7:10:55 PM (No. 1625278)
Oh, #13? I have done it twice, to e-bike battery packs on fire, and it worked.
3 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
Dipi 12/27/2023 8:13:28 PM (No. 1625304)
Perhaps the fire fighters should have let it burn.
1 person likes this.
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