Electric Vehicle Fire Mitigation and Response Toolkit

Due to lithium-ion battery fires, electric vehicles (EVs) present unique challenges in traffic incident management (TIM) and emergency management (EM). TIM is a planned and coordinated multidisciplinary process aimed at detecting, responding to, and clearing traffic incidents while restoring traffic flow as safely and quickly as possible. In TIM, many state departments of transportation (DOTs) have safety service patrols (SSPs) that offer services ranging from courtesy patrols, which provide simple motorist assistance, to more advanced services involving aggressive roadway clearance of disabled or wrecked vehicles. EM is a programmatic activity with a comprehensive approach to the full cycle of prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery of all hazards (including natural and manmade disasters), accidental disruptions, and other emergencies. State DOTs encounter EV fires in both TIM and EM situations. During an SSP response, an EV fire may influence whether the vehicle is pushed, pulled, dragged, or driven. Safety concerns arise regarding the personal protective equipment used for responding to EV fires, as well as considerations for transporting or storing EVs after a fire. Additionally, the risks posed by lithium-ion battery fires affect state DOTs as they electrify their fleets and store the vehicles. EV fires can affect infrastructure (e.g., pavement and bridges), have environmental impacts, and sometimes require warning people nearby. EM situations can become cascading events that make responding to EV fires more difficult (e.g., EV fires during earthquakes, tornadoes, and hurricanes). Further, EV fires require different considerations depending on whether they occur in urban, rural, or remote areas. Research is needed to support state DOTs as they manage lithium-ion battery EV fires during situations ranging from normal TIM to situations where hazards, accidental disruptions, and other emergencies are cascading events. The objective of this research is to develop a toolkit that addresses the risks, opportunities, solutions, and costs associated with lithium-ion battery EV fires. The research shall consider the all-hazards approach to EM and its cycle.

• Record URL:
  • http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5689
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contract to a Performing Organization has not yet been awarded.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Proposed
• Funding: $300,000
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 20-132

• Sponsor Organizations:

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  Zelinski, Patrick

• Start Date: 20241209
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Electric vehicle charging; Electric vehicles; Emergency management; Risk assessment; Vehicle safety
• Subject Areas: Energy; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01919459
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 20-132
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: May 23 2024 10:09AM