to extinguish Tesla: firefights dug pit, submerged battery pack then 1 hr and 4,500 gallons of water

[Demovictory9]

A Tesla was in a junkyard for three weeks. Then it burst into flames.



https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/A-Tesla-was-in-a-junkyard-for-three-weeks-Then-17257470.php

A white Tesla Model S was sitting in a Rancho Cordova, Calif., wrecking yard earlier this month - having been severely damaged in a collision three weeks earlier - when it suddenly erupted in flames, according to the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District.

When firefighters arrived, the electric car was totally engulfed. Every time the blaze was momentarily extinguished, the car's battery compartment reignited, the fire department wrote in an Instagram post. Firefighters and wrecking yard workers tried turning the car on its side to aim water directly onto the battery pack. But "the vehicle would still re-ignite due to the residual heat," the department wrote.

So they tried something else: They used a tractor to create a pit in the dirt, managed to get the car inside, then filled the hole with water. That allowed the firefighters to submerge the battery pack and ultimately extinguish the fire, which burned hotter than 3,000 degrees, Capt. Parker Wilbourn, a fire department spokesman, told The Washington Post.

All told, it took more than an hour and 4,500 gallons of water for the dozen firefighters to extinguish the blaze, Wilbourn said - about the same amount of water used to put out a building fire.

[chowder66]

1. Holy Hell!!!

[hlthe2b]

2. Well, that is going to be a problem... It still needs oxygen to burn so burying it with

oxygen deprivation seems to be the fire-fighting technology for the future:

https://www.networkworld.com/article/2296614/fighting-fire-with-oxygen-deprivation.html
Fighting fire with oxygen deprivation
As data centers become hotter and more dense with servers, a greater chance for fire exists. But there's equipment on the market that applies a well-known method of halting fire: starving it of oxygen.

Only a few vendors are offering oxygen-deprivation systems, but interest in the technology is growing. It involves pumping air that has such a low oxygen content that a fire can't start in the data center.

Air is composed of about 21 percent oxygen, 78 percent nitrogen and 1 percent of other gases. Fire needs the oxygen to burn, and lower percentages of oxygen makes it more difficult or impossible for fire to start.

Wood stops burning when the oxygen content falls to 17 percent and plastic cables between 16 to 17 percent, said Frank Eickhorn, product manager for fire detection at Wagner Alarm and Security Systems GmbH in Hanover, Germany.

Wagner makes electric compressors that use a special membrane to remove some of the oxygen from the outside air, a system the company calls OxyReduct. The excess oxygen is exhausted, and the remaining nitrogen-rich air is pumped inside the data center.

At 15 percent oxygen, it's safe for humans to enter. The lower oxygen content of the air is similar to being at an altitude of about 6,000 feet, Eickhorn said. He demonstrated with a lighter inside a sealed atrium Wagner has on display at Cebit. It won't light.

An active oxygen-removal system or something like it, under a buried burning car, would be doing what the water plus burial under dirt eventually does, but any faster? At any rate, this issue made me wonder how these super-heated tech centers avoid fire.

[whopis01]

8. Lithium-Ion batteries don't need external oxygen to burn

Once the fire is going the cathode will release oxygen. That’s one of the things that makes it so difficult to put out. Removing heat to the point the reaction doesn’t produce oxygen is needed.

[oioioi]

3. What, me worry? Within 2 years they'll be self-extinguishing

and with all those hours spent parked at charging stations I can contemplate how much better battery swapping would have been:

[cstanleytech]

4. Decade's away anything like that in wide usage inside the US if ever.

[Hekate]

5. Tesla, car of our dreams...

[oldsoftie]

6. This is a big problem with ALL battery packs; excessive heat & fire.

Remember the lithium batteries that brought down an airliner in the everglades many years ago? This isn't new. But the more electric cars on the road the more this is going to happen. Its just another negative to the rush to batteries. Nevermind the security issues & OTHER environmental problems.
But nobody ever wants to talk about that

[jmowreader]

19. You talking about the ValuJet flight?

That wasn't batteries. It was illegally shipped chemical oxygen generators.

A 787 caught fire because of batteries, but it was parked when it happened.

[oldsoftie]

21. Yes, thats the one. I mixed up the two.

I don't know what the solution to these things will be but someone needs to figure it out

[jmowreader]

23. Finding a metal that isn't as reactive as lithium to make batteries is the answer

Lithium makes great batteries. They are lightweight and carry a lot of charge.

Lithium also makes really dangerous batteries because not only is it highly reactive, it’s flammable.

[oldsoftie]

24. And it would be nice if that material was plentiful HERE.

Too many components of these current type batteries are controlled by China. Becoming even MORE dependent on them is a bad move for the US.

[alphafemale]

7. They tried to put out an electrical fire with water?

Sounds like the housemate who started a grease fire on the stove and was about to turn the sink hose on it before I practically tackled him.

[Hugin]

9. Lithium.

“Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly reactive and flammable, and must be stored in vacuum, inert atmosphere, or inert liquid such as purified kerosene or mineral oil.”

Pretty hard to find any of those storage mediums in a tow yard.

From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium

[Best_man23]

11. Actually, many tow yards do have mineral oil-based fluids around

Transmission fluid uses mineral oil as its base component. However, if the requirement is purified oil, then transmission fluid may not work.

[sl8]

12. I'm pretty sure this was lithium-ion, not lithium.

Different extinguishing methods.

https://firefighterinsider.com/the-best-fire-extinguisher-for-lithium-ion-batteries/

[Hugin]

16. Lithium-ion.

“They can however be a safety hazard since they contain flammable electrolytes and if damaged or incorrectly charged can lead to explosions and fires.”

From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion_battery

The battery was probably damaged by the collision and sitting around in the heat didn’t help either.

A SOP needs to be established for handing these systems. However, that would require $$$, specialized training, and labor. So, it ain’t gonna happen.

[sl8]

17. Yes, both types of batteries present extinguishing challenges.

Did you see the link I added to my post? I may have added it while you were composing your reply.

[roamer65]

20. Bingo.

[BSdetect]

10. If you are worried about vehicles on fire read this

https://auto.hindustantimes.com/auto/electric-vehicles/tesla-fires-are-11x-lower-and-less-frequent-than-ice-vehicles-41652163361677.html

[MicaelS]

13. Big damn deal.

How many ICE fires occur daily? These Tesla fire stories are clickbait.

[Old Crank]

15. New tech gets the news.

Here is the dat you wanted about car fires. Yes ICE have more fires and a higher rate.

https://insideevs.com/news/561549/study-evs-smallest-fire-risk/

[oldsoftie]

22. The point is about how hard it is to put these out. An ICE fire takes 10 mins.

Its not about the frequency its about the cost, the additional hazards & traffic delays. you can't tow away a wrecked EV if its liable to reignite on the tow truck.

[Old Crank]

14. Here is a data point about extinguishing

Lithium ion batteries.

https://www.aidic.it/cet/18/67/122.pdf

Note that the article in question had the fire extinguished a few times but residual heat caused reignition. The same thing can happen to stove top oil fires from deep fat frying.
Should you have one in your kitchen:
Cut put a lid on it, cut the heat source, and leave it alone until it cools.

[eppur_se_muova]

18. Should use dry chemical extinguisher, not water. Water can make H2, and reacts exothermically.

Sand would be the cheapest thing available, though not as effective.