Fire risk of underground EV charging facilities - UK, Korea, Singapore raise concern

• Battery EVs don’t have higher risk of fire than regular ICE cars
• The problem is not risk of fire, but how much more difficult it is to put out one, should an EV fire occur
• Building managers should also check with their fire insurance before installing EV charging facilities

Statistically, there is no reason to think that battery EVs have a higher risk of fire than regular combustion engine cars. Cases of cars catching fire while parked or charging are also very rare, but they do happen, regardless of whether it’s a battery EV or regular internal combustion engine (ICE) car.

This is why insurers don’t quote a different, higher insurance premium for EVs. The value of the vehicle, risk of theft, and driver’s profile are the determining factors, regardless of whether it’s an EV or ICE car.

There is however one problem – fire firefighters in many parts of the world will tell you that people who believe in the above are wrong.

The statistics are correct, but fire fighters also know one thing – statistics don’t put out fires, and not all fires can be put out. Unfortunately, battery-related fires are the kind of fires that cannot be put out.

You can extinguish a burning ICE car with fire extinguishers or lots of water, but the only way to put out a burning EV is to do a controlled burn, in an open field, because it can reignite multiple times over, even after the flames are snuffed out.

An EV doesn’t have higher risk of fire than an ICE car but when it does, it’s one burning hell of a fire to put out.

To a car insurance company, how long or how intensely a car burns or how difficult it is to put out the fire, is irrelevant because the insurance company doesn’t pay the fire department, only the owner of the vehicle.

However a building fire insurance company will have a different opinion on the matter. To them, there’s a world of difference if a car burning in an underground car park can be put out by fire extinguishers, or if it will keep burning long enough to damage significant portions of the property.

This is why the topic of mitigating fire risks for underground EV charging facilities is gaining traction among building fire insurance bodies. The UK’s Fire Protection Association (FPA) is one such body.

The FPA’s risk assessment and research body RISCAuthority has recently published a guideline for safe EV charging facilities in the UK. Since RISCAuthority is not a government body, it cannot amend fire safety laws but there is a possibility that in the future, building managers who offer underground EV charging and don’t comply with these guidelines could face higher insurance cost.

EVs are a relatively new development. As such, governments around the world are still learning on how to deal with this shift in technology. Other than basic fire and electrical wiring safety regulations, no country has enacted laws that require specific fire suppression measures for underground EV charging facilities.

On hindsight, it’s a rather shocking oversight. If an EV charging bay is the petrol station of the future, and we already know that every petrol pump is required to have a fire extinguisher nearby, why fire risk wasn't considered when guidelines for EV charging facilities were drafted?

In response to RISCAuthority, Zurich Insurance UK has also released its own guidelines for buildings.

Both organizations say that underground EV charging facilities pose the highest risk and recommend the following (summarized) guidelines:

• The best location for an EV charging facility is on ground level, away from high value properties or combustible materials (LPG gas storage, waste collection etc.), with easy access for fire trucks
• If EV charging facility has to be deployed in a multi-storey parking complex, it should be setup either on the roof-level or near ground-level access ramps, preferably with open sides for ventilation.
• Enclosed underground parking should be the last resort. If unavoidable, sprinklers and high speed air ventilation (to vent thick smoke) above the EV charging facility are a must-have
• EV charging area must be located far away from access doors, staircase or emergency exits

“Because of the intense and prolonged nature of fires involving lithium-ion batteries, where it is necessary to locate charging areas in basements, careful consideration should be given to the design of the sprinkler system and ventilation arrangements.

“There should also be liaison with the Fire and Rescue Service concerning access for firefighting. Basement level parking garages with EV chargers should be separated from other parts of the premises by elements of structure (i.e. fire shutter doors) that provide at least 120 minutes fire resistance,” said RISCAuthority.

Meanwhile, Zurich says:

“In circumstances where electric vehicle charging units are installed internally, charging/parking areas should be located as close as possible to exits and preferably on the ground level to allow easy access for the fire brigade.

“The high combustible fire load of modern cars in general and the high energy generated in these types of fires, can result in a well-developed fire involving numerous vehicles by the time the fire brigade arrives.

“Internal charging/parking areas should be in a separate fire compartment with a minimum of 60 minutes fire resistance, subject to consideration of the hazards presented by the occupation of the building. Basement level charging/parking areas present additional complexities for firefighting therefore these compartments should achieve a minimum of 120 minutes fire resistance.

“The generation of toxic gases is particularly problematic for firefighting activities in below ground charging areas. It is therefore essential that below ground or concealed charging and parking areas are provided with adequate ventilation.

“Wall mounted charging units, whether internal or external, should be installed on noncombustible walls and installation beneath or next to unprotected openings/extensive glazing should be avoided.”

Closer to us in Asia, the Korean fire department is proposing to the government to make mobile water containment pools and high pressure fire hose a mandatory installation for underground EV charging facilities.

Since batteries are encased in a strong protective shell, it’s difficult for fighters to cool a burning battery.

With an inflatable pool that rises around a burning EV, the water pool can keep the battery cool, thus preventing further reignition.

Another proposed measure is to have fire-proof / fire-resistant materials to cover the sides and ceiling above the EV charging area.

Closer to Malaysia, Singapore is looking into similar measures. The island state has passed a new law that will require new buildings to have 1 EV charging bay for every 25 parking lots.

At the same time, Enterprise Singapore, an agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) is evaluating several proposals for fire suppressions that can be deployed to high-rise buildings.

“For an urban city like Singapore, with high-density multi-storied carparks, underground parking and commercial/industrial parking, the EV fire may pose an additional risk as the propagation of the fire will spread to surrounding property and can cause a cascade effect.

“Currently, the sprinkler system is being installed every 12 square metre of carparks (except for mechanised car parks). However, there is no existing solutions deployed in Singapore car parks to prevent EV fire propagation,” said the agency in its request for proposal last year.

As for Malaysia, the Ministry of Local Government Development (KPKT) is developing guidelines for EV charging, including those installed at condominiums. The guideline is still at proposal stage and is not finalized.

Like conclusions made by British insurance bodies and Korean fire departments, KPKT’s proposed guidelines discourage construction of underground EV charging facilities.

As expected, the proposal didn’t go down well with Malaysian EV fans, who see these concerns as being overly cautious, with a hint of anti-EV / ignorance towards EV technology.

"Don't play with fire" is an advice all parents give their children. So when brave men and women who are trained to run into a burning building when everyone else is running out warn us about a fire hazard, we should pause and listen.