Fire - Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid Emergency Response Manual

Emergency Response

Fire

Approach and extinguish a fire using proper vehicle fire fighting practices as recommended by NFPA,
IFSTA, or the National Fire Academy (U.S.A).
Extinguishing Agent

Water has been proven to be a suitable extinguishing agent.
Initial Fire Attack

Perform a fast, aggressive fire attack.
Divert the runoff to prevent it from entering watershed areas.
Attack teams may not be able to identify a XV Crosstrek Hybrid until the fire has been knocked
down and overhaul operations have commenced.
Fire in the High Voltage Battery

Should a fire occur in the NiMH high voltage battery, attack crews should utilize a water stream or
fog pattern to extinguish any fire within the vehicle except for the high voltage battery.
WARNING:
The NiMH battery electrolyte is a caustic alkaline (pH 13.5) that is damaging to human tissues. To avoid
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injury caused by coming in contact with the electrolyte, wear proper personal protective equipment.
The battery modules are contained within a metal case and accessibility is limited.
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To avoid serious injury or death from severe burns or electric shock, never breach or remove the high
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voltage battery cover under any circumstance including fire.
When allowed to burn themselves out, the XV Crosstrek Hybrid NiMH battery modules burn
rapidly and can quickly be reduced to ashes except for the metal component.
Offensive Fire Attack
Normally, flooding an NiMH high voltage battery with copious amounts of water at a safe
distance will effectively control the high voltage battery fire by cooling the adjacent NiMH
battery modules to a point below their ignition temperature. The remaining modules on fire,
if not extinguished by the water, will burn themselves out.
However, flooding the XV Crosstrek Hybrid high voltage battery is not recommended due to
the battery case design and location preventing the responder from properly applying water
through the available vent openings safely. Therefore, it is recommended that the incident
commander allow the XV Crosstrek Hybrid high voltage battery to burn itself out.
Defensive Fire Attack
If the decision has been made to fight the fire using a defensive attack, the fire attack crew
should pull back a safe distance and allow the NiMH battery modules to burn themselves out.
During this defensive operation, fire crews may utilize a water stream or fog pattern to protect
exposures or to control the path of smoke.
(Continued)
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