As New York pushes its New Green Deal mandate to replace every one of the state’s 50,000 school buses with all-electric beginning in 2027, what do local communities – firefighters and EMTs in particular – need to watch out for to keep students, emergency personnel, and drivers safe when accidents happen?
Lithium-ion batteries in all-electric cars and buses, and the charging stations, have unique issues when they catch on fire that are very different from a fire in a traditional diesel-powered bus.
Bob Vecchio, Executive Director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association, says, “If one of the batteries catches fire while being stored or worked on we have a problem. I have a lot of unanswered questions which begs the question of why the mandate is being pushed so hard before we are sure the infrastructure is there and the safety and security protocols are properly put in place. Why the mandate first before doing all the homework?"
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a report on the ‘Safety Risks to Emergency Responders from Lithium-Ion Battery Fires in Electric Vehicles’ to inform emergency responders of the potential dangers.
NTSB says that additional risk comes from damaged EV cells in the battery that can “experience uncontrolled increases in temperature and pressure (thermal runaway), which can lead to hazards such as battery re-ignition/fire. The risks of electric shock and battery re-ignition/fire come from from the "stranded" energy that remains in a damaged battery.”
Bill Biondi, Commissioner of the Mastic Beach Fire Department, said, “I understand there are changes that must be made, but we just can't jump into these changes. There are serious safety issues for the public and our firefighters. Mandates that begin in 2027 are just too soon.”
The rate of fire spread when ‘thermal runaway’ occurs at depot charging hubs is a big concern. Electric bus batteries are typically roof-mounted so when fires start on the roof they can quickly spread to other infrastructure. Getting enough water onto a roof-mounted e-bus high-voltage battery to cool it effectively can be a challenge to first responders.
Biondi shared that EV fires require a lot more water and a lot more time because they tend to stay very hot for a lot longer and pose the serious risk of reigniting. E-buses can also explode. When gases vent from lithium-ion battery cells what’s called a ‘vapor cloud explosion” can occur.
NTSB collected data during investigations of electric vehicle crashes where the vehicle caught fire and electric vehicles that have caught fire without any impact or accident. NTSB’s report highlights the risks of EV fires to emergency responders posed by the vehicles’ high-voltage lithium-ion batteries. Because EVs can catch fire without the impact of an accident, EV Buses stored and charging will have to be monitored when in a bus barn or yard.
Biondi spoke about the difficulty in training to put out an EV fire, “How do you prepare for something that you can't train on? And, the funding for additional equipment is always a challenge.”
“All in all, there seems to be a never-ending supply of mandates coming from the government, but never enough funding to meet the requirements. Volunteer Fire Departments and the taxpayers they serve are already stressed financially. Our expenses keep going up with these mandates but the 2% tax cap still applies,” says Biondi.
The Firefighter Association of the State of New York (FASNY) has given guidance that local volunteer fire companies will need to invest in special equipment to safely fight EV fires including thermal or infrared cameras to monitor the heat in the lithium batteries.
The ability to move an EV that is on fire to a quarantine area to monitor for re-ignition is also critical so that if it does reignite it does not cause a second emergency and potentially set something else on fire.
Burning materials from EV fires produce noxious gas and respirators will also be necessary for all responders. Additional Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as insulated gloves, safety goggles, and electrical hazard-rated safety shoes or boots rated to at least 1000 volts will be needed by local fire departments.
Emergency responders must also always have the manuals from the manufacturers that verify the voltage system and the location of cutoff switch locations for each model of EV bus used in their response area.