It had been a few days since we talked about fires and electric cars, a very popular subject due to the not yet optimal reliability of the batteries. This time, the alarm comes from the association of German firefighters, who addressed themselves to Der Spiegel deplores the need to greater commitment by manufacturers.
The basic problem can be read clearly in the cold figures: to extinguish a fire on a thermal car it takes on average 500 liters of water and a quarter of an hour, against 3 hours and 10,000 liters often reached for electrified vehicles on fire. In addition, the latter have the unfortunate tendency to reignite after the first fire has been stopped, bringing more headaches to the firefighters on the site.
Given that we are talking about Germany, one of the world’s leading car manufacturers, it is clear that the question is certain. importance for the entire automotive environment. If the batteries do not improve in terms of reliability, as the number of electric cars in circulation increases, the problems are likely to become serious. Currently, as is evident the difference in number, most fires that occur on the road are caused by heat engines. But the latter present a risk of fire almost exclusively at the wheel and in the presence of drivers. While electricity can ignite on its own and also if off given the continuous activity of the batteries.
The demand of German firefighters is that builders take more seriously this problem, by providing more information on the batteries used and associated materials. We also talk about the recovery of burnt vehicles and the deletion of those broken down, operations that require more equipment than a normal car. This would reduce the time and personnel required for emergency response, but it is a demand that has so far been largely ignored.
In other countries as well, such as the United States, similar protests had come from firefighters who often met each other. not prepared in front of a burning electric car. In response, some houses, like Tesla, have distributed textbooks in recent years that you can almost laugh at when you read them now. The main advice was to use more water and fire fighting foams… Not that you need a guide to figure it out.