Fire - Toyota RAV4 EV 2012 Electric Emergency Response Manual

Emergency Response (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 RAV4 EV 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
24.

Fire in the EV Battery Assembly
Should a fire occur in the Li-ion EV battery assembly, attack crews
should utilize a water stream or fog pattern to extinguish any fire
within the vehicle except for the EV battery assembly.
WARNING:

The Li-ion battery electrolyte is a flammable organic electrolyte that
is damaging to human tissues. To avoid injury by coming in contact
with the electrolyte, wear proper personal protective equipment.

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.
When allowed to burn themselves out, the RAV4 EV 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 EV battery assembly with copious
amounts of water at a safe distance will effectively control the EV
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 RAV4 EV EV 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 RAV4 EV EV battery assembly to burn itself
out.
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