VIA CHRIS MORRISON
Safety concerns around electric vehicles continue to grow as Australian fire and rescue services in New South Wales say they may have to carry out a “tactical withdrawal” for trapped victims in a car accident if the battery is likely to explode. Australian journalist Jo Nova reported on this story. mentioned for the first time in the electric car blog Guides, and comments: “They say first responders need more training because if this problem can be solved with certification, but the dark truth is they are talking about training firefighters and truck drivers load to recognize when they have to abandon the rescue.”
Guides, a widely read blog that appears to be very sympathetic to the roll-out of electric vehicles, reported on recent testimony given to the NSW Government’s Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Battery Inquiry. The writer believes that first responders are not adequately trained to deal with tram collisions and that in the most serious cases, rescue teams may be forced to abandon rescue work. One particular area of concern appears to revolve around the need to quickly rescue a trapped victim after a collision by pulling him or her out in a “highly undesirable manner.” Fires are a serious risk in any vehicle accident, but they can be quickly controlled in vehicles with internal combustion engines (ICE).
Concerns about the potential dangers inherent in electric vehicles are likely to increase as the number of people on the road continues to increase. Electric vehicle battery explosions can occur very quickly, causing the release of highly toxic gases. When they roar at excessive heat levels, they create very high temperatures that are difficult to extinguish. Explosions can occur after almost any impact or due to errors in the original manufacturing process. A fire often takes hours to control, and it can flare up again days after it was thought to be out. For Net Zero fanatics looking to take ICE cars on the road for short periods of time, electric vehicles are the only mass private transportation solution on offer. Many of the issues, including safety, that make them inferior products compared to gasoline-powered cars are often overlooked.
What might be involved in putting out fires on trams was detailed in startling detail in a recent report. Press Release from the Wakefield Fire Department in Massachusetts. It was called to a burning Tesla on snowy Interstate 95 and reported:
Wakefield Engine 1 and Ladder 1 commenced containment operations, spraying large amounts of water onto the vehicle. Many surrounding mutual aid communities also responded to assist with firefighting operations and created a shuttle to bring water continuously to the scene. The engines of the Melrose, Stoneham, Reading, Lynnfield were supported as well as the water tanker Middleton. Firefighters had three 1¾-inch hand lines as well as an active ‘flash gun’ to cool the battery compartment… Lynnfield crews established a continuous 4-inch supply line from Vernon Street to the highway . The fire was declared fully controlled and extinguished after approximately two and a half hours… The vehicle was removed from the scene after consultation with the Hazmat Unit… The crews did a great job, especially especially in stormy conditions – on busy highways.
There is little doubt that electric vehicle fires are on the rise. In the UK, CE Safety conducts Freedom of Information checks on local fire brigades and their latest survey shows alarming increase in fires. In Greater London during 2017-2022, there were reports of 507 battery fires from a number of electric vehicles, but CE Safety detected a “huge” 219 fires in 2022-23 alone. Lancashire is said to be second with 15 electric vehicle battery fires, but this is 10 more in a year than recorded in the five years from 2017-2022. Overall, it was “worrying” to find that the number of electric battery fires in 2022-2023 was higher in most areas than data showed in the five years from 2017 to 2022. In that year, 14 The bus’s battery burned out.
There has been a significant increase in the number of e-bikes catching fire, with CE Safety noting that lithium is highly flammable and reactive. “Overcharging poses a major risk to households with lithium-powered vehicles,” the safety organization found.
Concerns are also growing about the transport of electric vehicles on car ferries. Recently, Havila Kystruten, which operates a fleet of car ferries around the Norwegian coast, banned the transport of electric, hybrid and hydrogen vehicles. Based on a report inside Maritime operationsThis is the latest move by the shipping industry, which is “acutely aware of the growing dangers of shipping electric vehicles and other alternative fuel vessels.”
Havila chief executive Bent Martini said risk analysis showed fires at sea in fossil fuel vehicles could be tackled by onboard systems. “A possible fire in an electric, hybrid or hydrogen car would require an external rescue effort and could put people on board as well as the vessels at risk,” he said. Of course that’s a nightmare scenario. If a fire breaks out on a ferry crossing 20 miles in good weather, the chances of survival for all passengers and crew are very good. Perhaps it would have been less good if a fire had broken out and filled the ship with toxic smoke in the middle of a stormy November night while crossing the Bay of Biscay. Chances of survival will decrease if high temperatures cause nearby electric vehicles to explode.
Luckily, we see fewer and fewer such accidents. The list of disadvantages of electric vehicles is getting longer and longer. Environmental concerns about the production and extraction of raw materials have increased, while ‘range anxiety’ is common among motorists. Electric cars are more expensive than ICE cars, while old batteries mean very poor second-hand value. For those who want to see the back of them, the chart below may provide some comfort.
This reflects the recent decline in the share price of US car rental giant Hertz. Back in 2021, the company stepped up its bulk purchases of Tesla vehicles. In January, it sold 20,000 of them, and last month pushed another 10,000 into the slumping second-hand market. In the real world – the world where people create wealth by providing what others really want – fewer drivers seem willing to hire them. The stock price tells its own sorry story. Meanwhile, electric vehicle sales across Europe tend to be driven by unsustainable tax breaks, while cars are mainly favored by rich people in second or third cities. Political adoption of electric vehicles would likely destroy much of the European auto industry, which cannot compete with cheap Chinese imports.
If the goal is to eliminate personal transportation for the masses, then electric vehicles are a great idea. Whether that ultimately comes into play at the ballot box is another matter.
Chris Morrison is daily doubt‘S Environment Editor.
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