FIRE⚡️ISOLATOR
WHAT IS FIRE
ISOLATOR?
FIRE
ISOLATOR is a concept by the ISO9001 certified company T-ISS Safety Suppliers from the Netherlands for isolating and fighting EV car fires based on best practices and live testing. In general, there is not one single solution to extinguish or control EV car fires, as all firefighters who have dealt with these types of car fires will be able to confirm. Effectively isolating and fighting EV car fires takes several different methods because of the lithium-ion batteries on board of EV cars. The EV car will need to end up submerged in water in a container, but with the FIREISOLATOR concept, there is a lot that can be done beforehand to minimize the damages. Fighting EV car fires with the Fire Isolator concept has been thoroughly tested and proven to be effective.
Led by the ISO9001 certified company T-ISS, specialists with a long track record of fighting EV car fires figured out what the best method to fight a EV car fire is in order to minimize the collateral damage. Because we need to be clear: an EV car on fire in a carpark or on a ferry is a recipe for disaster.
FIREISOLATOR as a concept is the outcome of our professional tests of different extinguishing methods of (EV) car fires. The question we had was this: what combination of firefighting methods delivers the best result? With this best practice, the concept of FIREISOLATOR was born.
The FIREISOLATOR Concept consists of several tested and proven elements that, when used together, deliver the best results when fighting EV-fires in car parks, garages or on ferries:
| 1. | The use of a high temperature resistant car Fire Blanket (up to 1600 degrees C°, tested according to ISO EN 13501-1) in order to isolate and control the fire and prevent collateral damage. Note that a blanket alone will NOT kill the fire in the battery. It provides control of the situation. |
| 2. | The use of aerosol units, which interrupts the chemical chain reactions occurring in the flames and suppresses the fire resulting in further temperature reduction. |
| 3. | The use of a water mist lance to spray a water mist over the blanket in order to reduce toxic fumes and smoke and to keep the car cooled. |
| 4. | Thermal imaging camera. |
| 5. | A dipping container in which the EV car needs to be submerged (for probably several days). |
| 6. | Training in this concept. |
THE STORY OF FIREISOLATOR
Electric vehicle (EV) sales have surged the past years, with growth in all three top auto markets: China, the United States, and Europe. Sales increased enourmously, and according to different researches, will continue to do so in the upcoming years:
As more and more electric vehicles are sold around the world, their involvement in traffic incidents is likely to increase as their presence on the road increases. The unwanted ignition or explosion of battery cells during charging is also a threat to the environment and surroundings.
The concept for the FIREISOLATOR method to limit the damage done by EV car fires, arose when partners with a long track record in the European Ferry industry got together after receiving several questions from the ferry industry on how to best deal with EV car fires while sailing. As these experts were aware that Lithium fires are extremely difficult to extinguish, another and completely new concept was invented by T-ISS Safety Suppliers: FIREISOLATOR.
Instead of extinguishing the Lithium fire by any means necessary, it was proposed to isolate the fire to win valuable time to reach a safe haven where a vehicle can be unloaded and stored in a safe place without additional damage to other cars. The same idea is to gain additional time when an EV car fire occurs in an (underground) parking garage. Fighting EV car fires with the Fire Isolator concept is a tested and proven method for minimizing the collateral damage of EV car fires.
Based on this, the concept of FIREISOLATOR can be summarized by ‘winning as much time as possible to limit the collateral damage’. The tactics needed for doing this were tested successfully on normal combustion engine cars and EV cars in November 2021 and March 2022 in the Nordjyllands Beredskab (Fire & Safety training center) in Denmark by professional firefighters and experts from all over Europe. After those initial tests, the concept was tested thorougly by fire brigades from the Netherlands, Canada, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Korea, Slovenia and Slovakia.
FIREISOLATOR IN ACTION
Seeing the FIRE⚡️ISOLATOR concept in action under the supervision of professional firefighters was the goal of one of our first tests at The Nordjyllands Beredskab (Fire & Safety Training Center outside Frederikshavn) in Denmark. On this test day we observed how to minimize collateral damage from EV fires on ferries, parking garages or on the street as best as possible. Since then, we at Fire Isolator but also our dealers have done many other live tests, all over the world.
The overall conclusion is that the FIREISOLATOR concept works. Another conclusion is that an EV car fire on board a ferry or in a carpark is a huge problem! When fighting an EV car fire, one should not rely on just one tactic, but on the coordinated use of all components of the Fire Isolator concept.
A big thank you to all our dealers worldwide and to the professional firefighters for their expertise and honest opinion on the Fire Isolator concept.