What kind of fire extinguisher should be used to effectively extinguish the fire when the lithium battery of an EV vehicle catches fire?

Answer fans’ questions: What kind of fire extinguisher should be used to put out a fire when a lithium battery catches fire?

1. Self-rescue measures in case of fire

1. Stay calm and call the police quickly. Once a vehicle lithium battery fire occurs, you should immediately remain calm, quickly call the fire alarm number 119, and report the specific location of the vehicle, the size of the fire, and other information.

2. Cut off the power. If the fire is not large and can be operated safely, the vehicle power supply should be cut off immediately to cut off the battery power supply and prevent the fire from spreading.

3. Evacuate people. People in the vehicle should leave the vehicle quickly and orderly, stay away from the fire scene, and seek refuge in a safe area.

4. Try to put out the fire. If the fire is small and there are suitable fire extinguishers nearby, you can try to extinguish the fire before firefighters arrive.

2. Effective fire extinguishing methods

1. Use a suitable fire extinguisher. Lithium battery fires are chemical fires, and Class D dry powder fire extinguishers or lithium battery-specific fire extinguishers should be used to extinguish fires. It is strictly prohibited to use a small amount of water to pour out sprinklers or foam fire extinguishers, otherwise it will aggravate the spread of the fire.

2. Fire fighting methods. When using a fire extinguisher, shake the fire extinguisher first and then spray it at the root of the fire source until the fire is completely extinguished.

3. Cool down. Even if the fire is extinguished, the battery should continue to be cooled with a large amount of water or other coolants to prevent the battery from re-igniting.

3. Fire extinguishing methods for professional maintenance personnel

1. Use a pool or water-based fire extinguisher. When professional maintenance personnel put out a lithium battery fire, they can use a large pool or water-based fire extinguisher to soak or spray the battery to achieve rapid cooling.

2. Precautions. When using water or water-based fire extinguishers to put out fires, the following should be noted:

• Batteries should be completely immersed in water or covered in water-based fire extinguishing agent for at least 30 minutes.

• After the fire is extinguished, the battery should be moved to a safe place and continued to be observed for at least 12 hours to ensure that the battery temperature drops significantly and will not re-ignite.

• For large or deep battery fires, professional firefighting techniques and equipment should be used to fight them.

4. Requirements for water quantity when using water to extinguish fires

Lithium metal is an active substance and will react with water to produce a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen, which poses an explosion hazard. Therefore, when fighting a lithium battery fire, you should try to avoid using water. But if water must be used to extinguish a fire, large amounts of water should be used to quickly cool the battery and prevent it from re-igniting. Generally speaking, the amount of water should be enough to completely soak or cover the battery.

5. Other matters needing attention

Lithium battery fires are highly dangerous and difficult to put out. Therefore, in daily life, attention should be paid to preventing the occurrence of lithium battery fires, such as:

Do not use inferior or modified lithium batteries.

Do not use or store lithium batteries in high temperature environments.

Do not bump or puncture lithium batteries.

Regularly check lithium batteries and their connecting cables, and deal with any abnormalities promptly.

6. Training and drills for professional maintenance personnel

Professional maintenance personnel should receive professional lithium battery fire fighting training and conduct regular drills to master the correct fire extinguishing methods and skills to ensure that they can effectively respond when encountering a lithium battery fire.