by AFAC

6, February 2023

Conor McDonald
AFAC

Although rare, incidents involving electric vehicles can be very risky. AFAC has released new doctrine to support fire and emergency services respond to incidents involving electric vehicles safely.

The presence of electric vehicles (EV) or plug in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) across Australia and New Zealand is increasing significantly. There are several industry, societal and governmental initiatives that are driving a transition from internal combustion engine-powered vehicles to electrically powered vehicles.

According to the Electric Vehicle Council (2022) Australians now have access to 30 passenger electric vehicle models from 12 with 65 variants, and it is expected that in the future, Australians will have access to 31 additional battery electric vehicle models and six PHEV’s from a range of 28 models.

There are currently 291 public fast-charging locations around Australia. State and federal government funding has been committed to co-fund the deployment of approximately 700 additional fast-charging locations over the next five years, each with multiple charging bays.

According to EVFireSAFE (2021) ’s global research, supported by the Defence Science and Technology Group and Deakin University, there is a 0.0012% chance of a passenger electric vehicle battery catching fire.

EV manufacturers use a variety of types and brands of battery cells to store energy. The most common type of battery used is a lithium-ion (or li-ion) battery, a type of rechargeable battery in which lithium ions move from the negative electrode (anode) through an electrolyte to the positive electrode (cathode) during discharge, and back when charging.

The competition in the battery energy storage system market revolves around the intellectual property associated with battery chemistries, i.e. in the electrolyte and materials used for the anode and cathode. This presents varying levels of hazards and risks to first responders and emergency service personnel when attending incidents involving EVs. The battery chemistry may not be easily identifiable at an incident, requiring responders to take the highest precautions available. The cooling products used to manage battery temperatures are also identified as a hazard and usually involve glycol-based automotive coolants.

As the technology in this area advances, the application of lithium-ion or similar batteries in vehicles is growing exponentially. Subsequently, concerns have been identified nationally around safely responding to incidents involving EVs. As substantial further growth in this area is predicted, it is important that AFAC Members are responding to such incidents safely and appropriately.

The newly released AFAC guideline, Incidents Involving Electric Vehicles informs fire and emergency services, along with secondary responders of measures that can be undertaken at an incident involving an electric vehicle. It provides a basic analysis of the role by taking into consideration hazards, risks, operational considerations, and the residual fire risk that can be provided by damaged vehicles.

The AFAC Alternative and Renewable Energy Technologies Working Group will continue to address national priorities in this area as they are identified.

Download Incidents Involving Electric Vehicles from the AFAC website: https://www.afac.com.au/insight/doctrine/article/current/incidents-involving-electric-vehicles

This article was originally published in Fire Australia Magazine, Issue 4 2022