Jeonnam Fire Department Establishes and Operates Electric Vehicle Fire Response Training Course

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Fire Headquarters (Chief Ma Jaeyoon) announced on the 26th that it will establish and operate a training course for electric vehicle fire response.

From the 24th, over three days, a special training course on electric vehicle fire response was conducted for employees of 18 fire stations to enhance their ability to extinguish electric vehicle battery fires.

Jeonnam Fire School formed a special lecture team composed of university professors, related companies, and Jeonnam Fire Education Corps instructors focusing on electric vehicle battery fires for this training.

Since electric vehicle fires require considerable time and firefighting resources when using conventional vehicle fire extinguishing methods, it is necessary to find improved extinguishing methods suitable for electric vehicle fires and provide firefighters with job training on these methods.

Currently, the number of registered electric vehicles nationwide in Korea has reached 140,000. From 2017 to 2020, there were 69 electric vehicle fires, of which 58% were caused by electrical factors.

If an external impact is applied to an electric vehicle battery, heat is generated inside, potentially damaging the separator, a safety device. In this case, thermal runaway occurs, causing the temperature to rapidly rise above 1000 degrees Celsius, allowing embers to survive and cause re-ignition.

This training course was conducted through “electric vehicle real fire experiments” focused on on-site response that firefighters can directly use, including fire suppression using a dedicated electric vehicle fire monitor and extinguishing training using a smothering extinguisher.

In particular, unlike internal combustion engine vehicles, electric vehicles are equipped with lithium-ion batteries, and even if the vehicle fire is extinguished, re-ignition often occurs in the battery area. A new fire suppression technology using an air water tank was also introduced to address this.

The method involves installing a lithium-ion battery in the vehicle, igniting it, extinguishing the fire by spraying water, then submerging it in an air water tank to cool the battery and finally suppress the fire.

Park Euisung, Director of Fire Education, said, “We will continue to prepare various special training courses needed on-site so that employees can quickly respond to rapidly changing disaster environments.”