As hurricanes like Helene and Milton devastate coastal areas, already strained first responders face a new and growing threat: lithium-ion batteries that power electric cars, e-bikes and countless other devices. I will do it. Exposure to salt water from a storm surge puts you at risk of bursting into flames and burning down your entire home.
“Anything that has lithium ions and is exposed to salt water can be problematic, and the larger the battery, the greater the threat,” said Bill Morelli, fire chief in Seminole, Florida. This is why EVs are especially dangerous. “[The problem] As it continued to grow in popularity, we expanded.”
It’s not yet clear how many cars were set on fire by Hurricane Milton, which struck Siesta Key on Wednesday. It killed at least 16 people and forced about 80,000 people into shelters. But it happened. 48 battery fires confirmed Associated with the storm surge from Hurricane Helene, 11 of which were associated with EVs.
Morelli’s crew fought off three of them. St. Petersburg Fire Rescue reported at least two fires, one in an electric bicycle and one in a Mercedes-Benz EQB300, causing what fire department officials called “significant damage to a home.” CNN and other media outlets reported on a fire caused by a Tesla Model X in Sarasota.
Overall, these fires are uncommon. The Idaho National Laboratory estimates that approximately 3,000 to 5,000 electric vehicles will be damaged by Hurricane Ian in 2022. 3 dozen caught on fire. Since then, public awareness of the risk has increased, and officials, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have urged residents to move their EVs to higher ground before the storm. However, the chemistry and structure of lithium-ion batteries make them particularly prone to fires that are difficult for first responders to extinguish.
“They burn hot, burn quickly and are difficult to extinguish,” Morelli said.
An EV’s battery consists of thousands of cells stacked and packaged in a sealed enclosure. In particular, if highly conductive salt water touches the inside of a battery, it can cause a short circuit, causing excessive heat to travel from cell to cell. “It’s called ‘thermal runaway,’” said Andrew Klock, senior manager of training and development for the National Fire Protection Association.
When the battery heats up, it releases flammable gases that can ignite. Once a car starts to catch fire, traditional methods of extinguishing vehicle fires, such as foam or heat blankets to extinguish the flames, are not very effective. “Lithium-ion batteries produce their own oxygen and heat when they catch fire,” Klock said. “You can’t starve fire.”
Instead, first responders should apply as much water as possible directly to the battery pack to reduce heat. The International Association of Fire Chiefs recommends having 3,000 to 8,000 gallons. This can be difficult in a disaster situation when fire hydrants are not functioning properly and truckloads of supplies are limited.
“It takes a huge amount of water to extinguish it,” said Morelli, who is working with other departments to secure more heat blankets. With supplies at the ready, firefighters can move vehicles away from the structure and extinguish the flames enough to safely extinguish them.
“Training is the most important thing” to effectively extinguish these fires, Klock said. But out of about 1.2 million firefighters nationwide, only about 350,000 have completed the association’s training, he said. “I have a lot of work to do.”
The danger does not end when the storm passes. According to the Ministry of Transportation“The length of time a damaged battery can ignite can range from days to weeks.” This is one reason. Tesla urges owners: Do not drive your vehicle until your dealer has inspected it.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents 44 automakers and suppliers, declined to comment but was quoted as saying: Letter to Republican Senator Rick Scott Regarding the 2022 Florida issue, it states, “Safety is a top priority for our members, which is why they have long worked to address fire risks in both conventional fuel vehicles and EVs.”
Meanwhile, various efforts are being made to prevent such fires from occurring. The Federal Emergency Management Agency funded the following studies: New risks in home battery storage systems. Other researchers, including Yang Yang, an associate professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Central Florida, are studying ways to make batteries safer. his team developed a battery Instead of fighting salt water, you utilize it as your main electrolyte.
“Even if you submerge it in salt water, it still works well,” said Yang, who began working on the project after witnessing flooding problems first-hand while living in Houston and Florida. He said car companies have not yet contacted him about his research, but he is optimistic that safer batteries could be brought to market in the next few years.
Until then, storms like Helene and Milton may be one of the biggest drivers of public interest in both the problem and ways to prevent it. Yang, for example, thinks the odds are bittersweet at best. “I don’t want people to have any problems with electric cars.”
This story has been updated.
