WANTED: New fire suppression guidelines for EVs in PH

Electric vehicles (EV), like any other car, can catch fire because of various reasons.

However, traditional firefighting methods aren’t effective against EV fires, largely because of the potential of EV blazes to reignite and continue burning despite traditional fire suppression procedures.

That’s why the South Korean province of Jeju, which has the highest EV adoption in the country, is proposing various methods to tackle EV fires.

As of 2022, the number of registered EVs on the island reached 32,936, accounting for 8.03 percent of all vehicles. This is more than five times the national average of 1.5 percent, according to a report from our friends from WapCar.

Furthermore, the region has the highest number of EV charging facilities in the country, totaling 22,000.

Water bath

One of the measures that the province wants to implement in its "Fire Safety Guidelines for Parking Zones for Electric Vehicles” is a fire-extinguishing tank.

Given that fire trucks cannot drive up to a burning EV in an underground parking garage, firefighters would assemble the tank around the burning vehicle and fill it with water until it reaches the height of the battery pack.

In addition, the province wants to set up fireproof compartments exclusively for EVs, along with expanding the availability of cooling fire extinguishing equipment at the fire department level.

Stronger fire-prevention measures

Meanwhile, the Korean National Fire Agency recommended that EV charging facilities be placed outdoors.

However, if underground installation is unavoidable, certain measures must be taken to ensure fire prevention, such as:

• Establishing designated fire prevention zones

• Installing a suffocation fire prevention system

• Enhancing fire safety facilities, such as closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras 

The agency also noted that installing EV charging stations below the third basement floor should be avoided.

No EV fire guidelines

In the Philippines, Republic Act 11697 or the “Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act” mandates the provision of dedicated EV parking slots and charging stations at public and private establishments.

However, the law does not specify any special measures regarding EV fires. There have been no reported fires involving EVs, as of press time.

Given that the Philippines is slowly adopting EVs, do you think the Bureau of Fire Protection should also establish its own guidelines for dealing with EV fires?

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