The Threats Related to Parking Electric Vehicle in Underground Car Parks

Electric vehicles are increasingly appearing in underground garages. They pose a significant risk when a fire breaks out. Risks to the building structure and to the people safety increase. It is very difficult to extinguish an electric vehicle fire, and in addition, large amounts of hydrogen fluoride are released when the lithium-ion battery is burning. Substances released during an electric vehicle fire pose a threat to rescue teams, contaminate garage surfaces and contaminate the extinguishing water. The article presents numerical analyzes of the spread of hydrogen fluoride and temperature distribution during a fire of a small electric vehicle in a ten-car underground garage. The calculations used the Fire Dynamics Simulator program, which is very often applied to analyze the conditions during a fire in a confined space. Calculations show that even a fire of a small lithium-ion battery produces an amount of hydrogen fluoride that is hazardous to the health of people which could be near the fire.