Just saw this about a bus catching fire in London and it set me thinking about the risks posed by lithium batteries in the workplace. The number of incidents involving seems to be increasing. I have seen a quote that by the end of September 2022, the number of such fires have soared by almost 150% over the previous year and have continued to rise rapidly. Now this could be just down to a massive increase in the number of electric vehicles in use. You also have to take into account the Daily Mail effect: certain media(petrolhead) outlets don’t like electric vehicles on principle and look for stories that emphasise the downside of dangerous lithium batteries while ignoring the risks posed by internal combustions engines and the intrinsically (not!) safe fuel they use. But we as safety professionals need to look at all the possible hazards including lithium batteries.   

So, what if anything, do members of the forum do about lithium batteries? Do they allow them on site? Do they charge them on site? Do they have charging points inside buildings, or do they insist that they are charged outdoors, where they might be at risk of being stolen?  What about servicing them? And finally how does this compare to old fashioned internal combustion engines?  Do they keep fuel inside buildings. If so, how much and what safety precautions do they apply?

Cars and simlar using battery power are a car park item - some sites have company installed chargers, some have leads passed through windows whilst others make no provision.

Probably an increasing issue are employee e-bikes and e-scooters with scooters causing greater concern as they are not road legal in most of the UK and being low riding have a tendency for battery compartment damage.

You try and control this through the PAT rules knowing full well a lot of employees never bother seeking approval for their personal charging devices and managers/supervisors seem not to notice employee items plugged in - time for an elf 'n' safety audit!

Hi AK

To a great extent I think you answered your question in your initial thread.

All the stats continue to show that it is much more likely that a car fuelled by carbon will go bang than one that is electric (with the hybrids complicating the number a bit).

I think the greater problem at present is that most car parks, and particularly the multi storey ones were designed when a typical "car" was much smaller.

These days the petrol heads want SUVs that are bigger in every sense and those concrete car parks were not designed for either the dimensions or increased weight.

I live two miles from a city centre in a Controlled Parking Zone where the yellow lines have been removed and instead white lined parking spaces drawn out.

Virtually nobody who lives where I do actually needs a tank, yet all those spaces have to be designed for unnecessarily sized vehicles. 

Of course the owners are the first to shout about the potholes entirely ignoring the fact that their heavier vehicles accelerate the damage to both the road ways, cycle lanes and foot ways which considered together make up the "pavement" in highways engineering speak.

The DM and friends, along with big O&G are keen to make the most of a few electric vehicle fires and explosions - it's a classic deflection tactic.

That doesn't mean that we should ignore the risks of this new technology but the risks need to be contextualised.

Merseyside FRS is recording all vehicle fires involving batteries and sending to a central location, one day there might be enough info to make a decent report on e-vehicle fires.

The guidance includes do not leave an e-scooter or similar unattended while charging, disconnect when finished. don't charge near to a means of escape, people have died in houses because their escape was blocked by a burning e-scooer.  Vehicles are almost always left charging at homes and service stations but I don't hear about those locations suffering too many fires although they may be happening.

Fire services are seeking new methods of containing/extinguishing e-battery fires as they require copious water, possibly submerging the vehiccle for hours in a water container, or firefighters firing water from cover for as long as it takes.  Bearing in mind fire in e-cars do reingnite.

That double decker bus on fire is obviously drawing attention and thankfully the passengers evacuated safely but it must be a concern as the bus was not charging unless charging while on the move.

If I had some responsibility for premises where employees park their scooters or bikes inside the building I would require them to prove the battery was purchased from a reputable supplier, not Ebay or Amazon without a certificate, they would be required to park inside a pre-determined area where fire risk is low and adequate fire extinguishers are nearby.  I would be checking with the premises insurer and getting their permission to allow e-battery powered bikes and scooters on site.

There needs to be a pre-determing plan for firefighting an e-powerd vehicle on the premises, including alarm and evacuation as these fires can burn out of control until the FRS arrive.

Originally Posted by: firesafety101

I would require them to prove the battery was purchased from a reputable supplier, not Ebay or Amazon without a certificate

Given it is mostly the OEM battery and/or charger that are currently the source of such fires (same with hoverboards) I am curious as to what "certificate" could be provided? Even OEM can have issues based on the product recalls issued - who can forget the flaming (Samsung) Galaxy.

What actually makes a "reputable" supplier compared to Amazon - Halfords, Very, Evans Cycles or the local independent?

Originally Posted by: A Kurdziel

Storing and charging them outside is not seen as an option as there is the fear that the local youth might be tempted to “borrow” them; there seems to be an obsession with quad biles in the area despite it being very urbanised.

Locked doors only keep out honest men and eventually the quads movements will be noted.

You could take a three pronged approach:

1) External "shed" or garage to store / charge the quads ideally under recording CCTV surveillance

2) Ground anchors to secure the quad when not in use

3) Hidden vehicle trackers for when the yoof play with a recently found angle grinder.

You really don't want unsupervised electrical charging happening in a building basement.

Is it easy to remove the batteries, so they can be charged outside in a secure area / suitable fixed container, but the bikes stay inside.  Then replace the batteries the following morning. This may or may not be practical. Just a thought.

Given the message in this recently published consumer guidance from OPSS I am guessing we are very firmly "on our own"

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/my-safety-e-bikes-and-e-scooters-battery-charging?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications-topic&utm_source=435447b7-43ea-47d6-9a06-c21b27bd5a6b&utm_content=daily

Would have been better directing all traffic to the on page link for Fire England

https://fireengland.uk/fire-safety/charging-your-e-bike-or-e-scooter