Fire - Toyota Prius Manual

Emergency Response (2012 Model - Continued)

Fire

Approach and extinguish a fire using proper vehicle fire fighting practices as
recommended by NFPA, IFSTA, or the National Fire Academy (USA).
•
Extinguishing Agent
Water has been proven to be a suitable extinguishing agent.
•
Initial Fire Attack
Perform a fast, aggressive fire attack.
Divert the runoff from entering watershed areas.
Attack teams may not be able to identify a Prius Plug-in hybrid until
the fire has been knocked down and overhaul operations have
commenced.
•
Fire When Vehicle Charging
When extinguishing a fire when charging, the vehicle and charge
cable assembly may come in contact with water. As soon as possible,
shut off the power to the electrical outlet before disconnecting the
charge cable assembly. Perform the charge cable assembly
disconnection procedure contained in the Extrication section on page
62.
•
Fire in the HV Battery Assembly
Should a fire occur in the Li-ion HV battery assembly, attack crews
should utilize a water stream or fog pattern to extinguish any fire
within the vehicle except for the HV battery assembly.
When allowed to burn themselves out, the Prius Plug-in hybrid Li-ion
battery cells burn rapidly and are reduced to a combination of ashes
and metal components.
Offensive Fire Attack
Normally, flooding a Li-ion HV battery assembly with copious
amounts of water at a safe distance will effectively control the HV
battery assembly fire by cooling the adjacent Li-ion battery cells to a
point below their ignition temperature. The remaining cells on fire, if
not extinguished by the water, will burn themselves out.
However, flooding the Prius Plug-in hybrid HV battery assembly 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 Prius Plug-in hybrid HV battery
assembly 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 Li-
ion battery cells 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.
WARNING:
•
Burning batteries may irritate the eyes, nose, and throat. To
prevent injury wear personal protective equipment suitable for
organic solvents including SCBA.
•
The battery cells are contained within a metal case and
accessibility is limited.
•
To avoid serious injury or death from severe burns or electric
shock, never breach or remove the high voltage battery assembly
cover under any circumstance including fire.
•
To prevent serious injury or death, shut off the utility circuit
supplying power to the charge cable assembly before disconnecting
it if the CCID or charge cable assembly are submerged in water.
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