>https://www.wsj.com/opinion/if-green-energy-is-the-future-bring-a-fire-ext
>inguisher-8e212871?mod=opinion_lead_pos7
>
>Steve Goreham

Obviously another ignorant right wing stooge for the fossil fools. ICE
cars are 30 times more likely to catch fire than an EV.

You ignorant rightists are allowing lies to control you again.

You�re Wrong About EV Fires

Gas- and diesel-powered vehicles catch fire way more often than EVs, but
you wouldn�t know that from the headlines.

Scott EvansWriterRyan LugoIllustratorJul 17, 2023

There's a car fire roughly every five minutes in America. The vast majority
of them never make the news. But if a Tesla or a Chevy Bolt catches fire?
It's probably on the front page nationwide and going viral online. If the
sensational headlines and social media videos are to be believed, EVs are
flaming deathtraps that could spontaneously combust at any minute.

EVs are new and different, and their fires pose some different challenges
for first responders, so some coverage makes sense; we ourselves cover
unusual or noteworthy instances. But if electric vehicles are no more
likely to catch fire than any other car on the road, the headline frequency
can be misleading. In fact, the data says they account for a tiny fraction
of all car fires.
Far More Non-EVs Catch Fire

According to National Fire Incident Reporting System data collected by the
U.S. Fire Administration and analyzed by the National Fire Protection
Association (NFPA) , an average of 117,370 passenger vehicles caught fire
every year between 2013 and 2017 (the most recent data available). That
works out to 321 car fires per day, or a car fire every five minutes. How
many of those car fires are EVs?

The fact is, no one knows for sure. No American government agency we're
aware of breaks out car fires by drivetrain, nor do they granularly break
out car fires by vehicle age. There is no database that tells you how many
EVs catch fire each year or what percentage of EVs catch fire. Similarly,
no database tells you how many cars running on gas or diesel catch on fire.
The NFPA analysis even goes out of its way to mention the lack of data on
EVs and makes no claims about the frequency or likelihood of EV fires.

The Swedish authorities, however, are keeping track. The Myndigheten f�r
Samh�llsskydd och Beredskap (MSB, or Authority for Social Protection and
Preparedness) recently released the first report of its kind specifically
tracking EV fires in Sweden and comparing them to combustion-powered
vehicle fires and the results are clear: EVs are much less likely to catch
fire.

Per the MSB, just 29 EVs and 52 hybrids caught fire in Sweden between 2018
and 2022. On average, 16 vehicles powered by batteries (EVs and hybrids
combined) catch fire there each year. On average, 3,400 passenger vehicles
catch fire each year in Sweden, meaning EVs account for 0.4 percent of all
passenger vehicle fires there annually. Hybrids account for 1.5 percent,
for a combined total of 1.9 percent of all passenger vehicle fires.

Put another way, gas- and diesel-powered cars account for 98.1 percent of
all passenger vehicle fires in Sweden each year on average.
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Combustion-Powered Vehicles Are 29 Times More Likely To Catch Fire

According to MSB data, there are nearly 611,000 EVs and hybrids in Sweden
as of 2022. With an average of 16 EV and hybrid fires per year, there's a 1
in 38,000 chance of fire. There are a total of roughly 4.4 million gas- and
diesel-powered passenger vehicles in Sweden, with an average of 3,384 fires
per year, for a 1 in 1,300 chance of fire. That means gas- and diesel-
powered passenger vehicles are 29 times more likely to catch fire than EVs
and hybrids.
The Problem Isn�t Getting Worse

With more and more EVs, hybrids, and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) being sold
every year, it's reasonable to wonder whether that rate of fires in those
cars will increase. The MSB study found that after a rise in fires from
2019 to 2020, the rate is basically unchanged over the past 3 years with 20
EV and hybrid fires in 2020, 24 fires in 2021, and 23 fires in 2022. In
that same time period, the MSB reports the number of EVs in Sweden has more
than doubled to nearly 611,000. Prior to 2020, fewer EVs and hybrids caught
fire with 8 in 2018 and 6 in 2019.
Not All EVs Are Made The Same

Note these numbers include all hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and EVs and not
just ones using lithium-ion batteries. Up until 2021, the vast majority of
hybrids used nickel-metal hydride batteries, which don't burn the same way
lithium-ion batteries do.

The MSB also notes that not all of the fires included in its numbers
involved the battery pack. In some cases, other parts of the vehicle burned
but the fire was put out before it reached the batteries.

We should also point out there are some EVs and hybrids sold in Sweden that
are not sold in the U.S. and some that are sold here that aren't sold in
Sweden, so the fire risk may differ slightly in our two countries.
Electrical Problems Aren�t the Leading Cause of Car Fires

Not having an engine and its accompanying mechanical systems might actually
reduce the risk of a vehicle fire. According to the NFPA, the leading cause
of vehicle fires is mechanical failure or malfunction, accounting for 45
percent of all such fires. Electrical problems are a distant second,
accounting for 23 percent of the total. Not having gasoline, hot exhaust,
and controlled explosions on board significantly reduces the possible ways
for a fire to start.
Age Matters More

In fact, the analysis shows older cars are far and away the most likely to
catch fire and the risk of fire increases the older a car gets. A total of
77 percent of all car fires that occurred in 2017 involved vehicles made in
2007 or earlier, so those at least 10 years old or older. The original
Tesla Roadster didn't come out until 2008, and only 2,500 of those were
built. The first mass-market EV, the Nissan Leaf, wasn't released until
2010. Only the earliest modern EVs, of which very few were sold, are 10
years old today. The NFPA report cites worn-out parts and deferred
maintenance as the likely cause of increased fire danger for older cars.
EV Fires Are Harder To Put Out

It's true that car fires involving vehicles with lithium-ion batteries must
be handled differently than other car fires both because of the risk of
high-voltage electrical shock and the way lithium-ion batteries burn. When
extremely overheated, lithium-ion batteries experience what's called
thermal runaway, a chemical process that isn't as easily extinguished as a
gasoline fire in part because it doesn't require oxygen. They also carry a
higher likelihood of reigniting after the fire is believed to be
extinguished.

Because of this, it can take far more water to put out a fire with a
lithium-ion battery than a typical car fire. Automakers who have supplied
guidelines to the NFPA generally suggest 3,000 gallons of water or more to
put out an EV fire.

In the meantime, many fire departments are issuing much simpler guidance:
If an EV battery is on fire and there's minimal risk of the fire spreading
to other vehicles, structures, or the environment, just let it burn itself
out. The International Association of Fire Chiefs recommends "consideration
and tactics [that] may be categorized in offensive or defensive mode. This
may be based on exposures and the extent of fire which may include actions
to let the vehicle burn." The city of Phoenix, Arizona, suggests in its
official handbook "once life safety has been addressed, fire companies
should determine if they should suppress the fire or simply allow the
vehicle to burn � once the batteries have gone into thermal runaway, we
understand that the vehicle is most likely a total loss. Control efforts
must consider life safety, property conservation, exposure protection,
environmental protection, and firefighter safety."

Numerous organizations, including various levels of government and
nonprofits, are working to train fire departments on best practices for
extinguishing EV fires, and research is being done into better techniques
and improved fire-suppressing chemicals. Most departments are already
familiar with procedures for avoiding electrical shocks, as hybrids have
been on the road for more than 20 years now. Manufacturers continue to
denote high-voltage componentry and wiring with orange coloring and
prominent labeling.

The firefighting procedures also extend to how burned EVs are handled once
the fire is out. Because thermal runaway is a chemical chain reaction,
damaged lithium-ion batteries remain at risk of reigniting for far longer
than gasoline or diesel. Once an EV fire is put out, the remains will need
to be transported to a holding yard prepared to handle a reignition. These
yards typically follow additional procedures, such as keeping burned EVs
farther away from other flammable objects and monitoring the remains for
reignition.
Do the Math

The simple fact is we've had gas- and diesel-powered vehicles for more than
120 years, and they've been catching fire since day one. We're used to it.
We've accepted it as a fact of life and we've done our best to make them
safer while devising better ways to put them out. EVs seem new and
different, but EVs have existed for nearly as long�they just haven't been
this popular in a century. EV sales are now growing so fast they'll be just
as unremarkable as every other car on the road sooner rather than later.
So, too, will be EV fires.
https://www.motortrend.com/features/you-are-wrong-about-ev-fires/