After Two-and-a-Half Hours and 20,000 Gallons, Tesla Fire Controlled by MA Firefighters

[sheshe2]

Last edited Wed Jan 25, 2023, 12:24 AM - Edit history (1)

Black ice sent a motor vehicle crashing into a guardrail in Wakefield Thursday.

The accident happened at about 10:47 p.m. in the northbound lanes of I-95 near Exit 59 as the area was in the midst of a storm.

The driver wasn’t injured. As the Tesla was being prepared for removal, however, the guardrail pieced the undercarriage, causing the lithium-ion batteries to go into a thermal runaway. The vehicle became fully involved in fire.

In addition to two trucks from Wakefield, engines from Melrose, Stoneham, Reading, Lynnfield as well as a Middleton water tanker assisted in shuttling water to the scene. 20,000 gallons of water was used to extinguish the fire, which took two-and-a-half hours to fight.

https://www.firefighternation.com/firefighting/after-two-and-a-half-hours-and-20000-gallons-tesla-fire-controlled-by-ma-firefighters/#gref





2 1/2 hours and 20K gallons of water.

Edit to correct the link.

[DURHAM D]

1. They should be illegal. nt

[Johnny2X2X]

27. ICE vehicles should be

Many more ICE vehicle fires than EV vehicle fires per miles driven. EV fires are different and can be harder to extinguish, but they're also less like to cause an explosion.

EVs are new, so there are some safety aspects that are being improved on, but overall they are already safer. Lower center of gravity makes them safer. More evenly distributed weight is a big safety feature. Heavier means safer. Less likely to explode, less likely to catch fire.

We're just starting, they're easier and cheaper to build too, so the price will eventually be lower than ICE vehicles.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

2. I could swear I learned at like 7 years old you don't put out electrical fires with water

[2naSalit]

5. I seem to recall that as well...

Could we both be wrong?

I think a better way to douse such fires will be in order. Foam?

[progressoid]

13. Foam won't work.

Understanding thermal runaway

A high-voltage battery is made up of many cells packed tightly together inside a watertight, fire-resistant box. When a single cell fails, it is essentially a small explosive that produces a tremendous amount of gas and heat (1,200 degrees F) in tenths of a second. The failure is an exothermic chemical reaction that does not require oxygen from the atmosphere to sustain itself. The heat released from each individual cell is transferred to the neighboring cells, which causes them to fail as well.

Once a battery cell fails, it is impossible to extinguish the failed cell as the chemical reaction inside the cell happens far too quickly. The only way to stop a thermal runaway is by directly cooling the cells involved to ensure that the failed cell does not cause the cells around it to also fail.

With that in mind, what tools and firefighters use to stop thermal runaway and extinguish these fires?

Firefighting foam

Firefighting foams work by creating a blanket to smother a fire. Many types of foam have properties that cool the surrounding area by assisting the water in absorbing heat. Unfortunately, getting the foam to the failed cells is difficult, if not impossible, because the thermal runaway event is happening inside a watertight, fire-resistant box. Additionally, even if it was possible to get the foam inside the box and flood the area with foam, the foam's main purpose is typically to starve a fire’s oxygen supply, but a lithium-ion battery cell does not need external oxygen to burn. Consequently, foam is ineffective at stopping a thermal runaway.

more...https://www.firerescue1.com/electric-vehicles/articles/electric-vehicle-fires-where-the-waiting-game-wins-f934UedqIpVqc1k2/

[2naSalit]

15. I see...

I wasn't quite sure about it, never had to deal with a battery fire of that type. I couldn't really imagine what would work, guess that's why. Thanks for the info.

[Hekate]

6. But does lithium-ion count as electricity? or just a producer of same?

[progressoid]

11. lithium-ion batteries are a class B (flammable liquid) hazard.

As fire fighters have discovered in recent years, lithium-ion battery fires are prone to reigniting. That's because the lithium salts in the battery are self-oxidizing, which means that they can't be "starved out" like a traditional fire. So how do you put it out?

Because the lithium has an ignition point of 500°C, the battery has to be cooled to a sub-ignition temperature. That's why it took the fire fighters in Texas 30,000 gallons of water and 4 hours to extinguish the blaze.

https://thompson-safety.com/company/press/lithium-ion-battery-fire

[Hugh_Lebowski]

12. Thanks for the facts, always love to learn new stuff :) (nt)

[progressoid]

14. Me too. This post caused me to do a little interneting. n/t

[ProfessorGAC]

20. Class D, Too

During the ion transfer, there is for a short time, elemental lithium.
Apparently, when these go into thermal overload the transfer inefficiency falls so the lithium transfers, but has nowhere to go.
So, as the casing fails lithium is exposed to the water being used and it accelerates the fire.
Class D fires are put out by smothering with sand or salt. Water can release copious amounts of hydrogen, while a fire is already burning.
Those 2 are not good playmates.

[usonian]

3. I didn't see it at that link. This one works well.

https://www.firehouse.com/operations-training/video/21293198/tesla-fire-creates-challenges-for-wakefield-ma-firefighters

[sheshe2]

4. Thanks, will change it.

I usually double check the links I copy.

[Hekate]

7. We have a neighbor who's having Tesla solar tiles installed on his roof. Somebody please tell me...

…they are nothing like Tesla batteries. The whole damn State of California could burn down.

Okay, on edit. Solar tiles are not the same. However if you want a battery to store the energy for after the sun goes down or the power goes out — that battery is a Tesla battery.

[sheshe2]

9. It was the battery that was punctured when they took it off the guardrail.

Hopefully batteries are not included in the solar panels.

[Hekate]

10. I edited my post to reflect further info. I've lost a lot of faith in Tesla, though....

Elon Musk does not seem all that trustworthy.

[sheshe2]

16. Yes on all your points.

Both Tesla and Elon suck. It's true.

[sheshe2]

17. ...

No Batteries!

[orleans]

8. holy shit! nt

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

18. kick

[BSdetect]

19. Still 11 times fewer fires than in ICE vehicles. Yes, that is a fact.

[sl8]

21. Total or percentages?

ICE vehicles on the road outnumber EVs by far more than 11:1.

The larger point is the apparent difficulty in extinguishing the fire .

[Johnny2X2X]

23. It's 11:1 frequency in one study

55 ICE vehicle fires for every billion mile driven vs 5 EV vehicle fires for every billion miles driven.

Another study showed even less more common ,61 times less often in EVs than ICE vehicles.

EV fires can be trickier to put out though and fire departments probably need some more training on handling them.

When it comes to EVs, fires are much less common and probably not quite as dangerous because there's less likely to be an explosion like with fires fueled by 10-50 gallons of gasoline in a thin metal tank below the vehicle. But they can be harder to extinguish.

[sl8]

24. Thank you. nt

[Chainfire]

22. It makes me wonder if I would like to park my Tesla in the garage, next to my bedroom?

[sheshe2]

26. I hear you.