Are EV's more likely to catch fire?

Find out the truth for yourself, once and for all.

The fire incident that occurred at Luton Airport's car park stirred considerable speculation online regarding the involvement of an electric or hybrid vehicle. It's important to note that no concrete evidence supports this assumption. According to Bedfordshire's chief fire officer, the fire is believed to have originated with a diesel vehicle, although this has not been officially confirmed.

As the sales of electric and hybrid cars continue to rise while registrations for traditional petrol and diesel vehicles decline, it is unsurprising that there has been an increase in reported cases of electric vehicle (EV) fires in recent years. Consequently, public concern regarding the safety of electrified vehicles has grown significantly in recent months.

But the question remains: Are EV’s more prone to fires compared to traditional petrol and diesel cars? Are they more challenging to extinguish? How have emergency services adapted their strategies to address EV fires? In this exploration, we delve into the data to seek answers to these questions.

Are Electric and Hybrid Vehicles at Greater Fire Risk than Conventional Petrol and Diesel Cars? Examining the Statistics

Are EV’s More Likely to Catch Fire Than Petrol and Diesel Vehicles? Research conducted by EV FireSafe, a private company supported by seed funding from the Australian Department of Defence to investigate EV battery fires, indicates that between 2010 and 2020, there was a minimal 0.0012 percent chance of passenger EVs catching fire globally.

However, when comparing this statistic to internal combustion engine (ICE) passenger vehicles globally, it's challenging to find an equivalent figure. Nonetheless, data from various countries suggests that there is approximately a 0.1 percent chance of petrol and diesel cars catching fire.

Tesla, a prominent global seller of EV’s with an 18.2 percent market share in 2022, claims that its cars are less likely to catch fire compared to ICE vehicles. Their 2020 Impact Report states that from 2012 to 2020, there was approximately one Tesla vehicle fire for every 205 million miles traveled. In contrast, data from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and US Department of Transportation indicates that in the US, there is one vehicle fire for every 19 million miles traveled.

Some reports suggest variations between electric and hybrid vehicles and ICE cars. An analysis by AutoInsuranceEZ in the US, using domestic statistics from the National Transport Safety Board, the Bureau of Transport Statistics, and Vehicle Recalls in 2020, found that hybrid fires per 100,000 sales were more common than those of petrol and diesel models. However, this report did not differentiate between self-charging and plug-in hybrid cars. According to their findings, EVs ranked third on the list, with 25 fires per 100,000 sales.

In May, the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) suggested that EVs were 20 times less likely to catch fire than petrol and diesel cars, based on incidents recorded in Sweden in the previous year. The report noted 106 fires in various electric means of transport in Sweden in 2022, with only 23 of these fires occurring in EVs. This accounted for just 0.004 percent of Sweden's fleet of 611,000 EVs. In contrast, during the same period, approximately 3,400 fires were reported in Sweden from the country's 4.4 million petrol and diesel cars, accounting for 0.08 percent of that fleet.

While several studies suggest that the likelihood of EV’s catching fire is lower than that of ICE cars, there have been reports of an increase in EV fire incidents in the UK. Health and Safety organization CE Safety reported that between 2017 and 2021, there were 753 emergency service callouts for EV fires in the UK. While recorded EV fires remained relatively low, there was an upsurge in incidents in 2021. For example, the London Fire Brigade reported 32 fires in 2020, which surged to 102 in 2021. In the first half of the following year, 98 incidents were recorded. It's essential to note that these figures encompass all types of electric modes of transport, with only 210 out of the 753 cases being related to cars, alongside 110 e-bikes and 62 e-scooters.

A recent freedom of information request to fire and rescue services, published last month, revealed that between July 2022 and June 2023, these services attended 239 instances of fires related to EV’s in the UK. This marked an 83 percent increase compared to the 130 recorded between July 2021 and June 2022. These figures also encompass various electric vehicles, including electric scooters, trucks, and e-bikes, making it challenging to determine whether the increase is due to unsafe technology or simply a higher number of battery-powered vehicles on the road.

The president of Honeywell Sensing and Safety Technologies (SST), Sarah Martin, emphasized the need for effective lithium-ion battery safety technology in response to the rising number of EV-related fires. Although there is a noticeable increase in these incidents, the number remains low relative to the total number of EV’s in use across the UK, exceeding 1.1 million. Nevertheless, ensuring the safety of EV batteries is crucial as the adoption of these vehicles continues to grow.

Understanding the Challenge of 'Thermal Runaway'

Experts often highlight the term "thermal runaway" when discussing the risks associated with fires in battery-powered technology, including EVs. This phenomenon refers to a chain reaction within a battery cell that becomes extremely difficult to control once initiated by extreme heat, leading to a chemical reaction within the battery.

Triggers for thermal runaway can include overcharging, which has caused some devices to self-combust during charging, as well as collisions—a critical concern for electric vehicles. This reaction generates additional heat, increasing battery temperature and potentially triggering further reactions that prolong the duration of fires.

Thermal runaway can occur within milliseconds and can reach temperatures as high as 752 degrees Fahrenheit (400 degrees Celsius). According to the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), thermal runaway can also result in unpredictable fire behavior, with ignition potentially occurring spontaneously over varying timeframes.

How Do EV Fires Differ from Petrol and Diesel Fires? While data supports the claim that EV’s are less likely to catch fire than petrol and diesel cars, they present unique challenges when it comes to firefighting. The key distinction lies in the high temperature and rapid combustion of lithium-ion batteries in EV’s.

EV batteries burn at a high temperature and require more effort to extinguish. They can generate enough heat to reignite after the initial fire has been put out, resulting in dormant phases that can last for hours before reigniting. This makes them extremely challenging to extinguish. Additionally, the high temperatures can lead to battery gassing and extremely hot blazes that are difficult to control.

The presence of reactive metals, such as lithium, in EV batteries can also release explosive and toxic gases and alkaline solutions when exposed to water. These gases, including carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide, can pose serious health risks to firefighters and anyone nearby.

The Difficulties of Extinguishing EV Fires According to Paul Christensen, a professor of Pure and Applied Electrochemistry at Newcastle University's School of Engineering, who is a leading expert on EV fires involving lithium-ion batteries, extinguishing electric vehicle fires is exceptionally challenging. He explained that getting water to where it's needed in an EV fire is a significant problem. EV battery cells are enclosed within a metal case, typically situated

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