Fire crews from Royal Berkshire try out new ways to deal with damaged electric vehicles

Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service partnered with the crash team from Thatcham Research to test out ways to respond to incidents involving electric vehicles, readying them for applying these techniques out on the roads as the number of EVs continues to grow.

The Thatcham Research crash team provided and prepared a modern vehicle, previously used for research projects and safety tests, to simulate real-life emergency scenarios. To start with, the EV was placed on its side to allow the firefighters from Wokingham and Theale fire stations to practise a rapid extrication scenario to simulate when the High Voltage (HV) battery had gone into thermal runaway.

This can occur when the HV battery in an EV is damaged or experiences an internal failure and begins to burn. During thermal runaway, the EV battery will burn at an accelerated rate and become extremely hot, presenting a challenging situation for the emergency services.

This simulated scenario helped the crews refine their techniques for quickly and safely rescuing occupants from a damaged EV.

At this year’s Emergency Services Show, Professor Paul Christenson and Phil Clarke will be talking about this topic: From electric vehicles, to scooters and vapes – how are the emergency services responding to the fire risk posed by lithium-ion batteries? is on the Sustainability Stage on 18 September at 1200.

Following the first scenario, the crews experimented with new equipment designed to improve rescue operations and more effectively deal with some of the high tensile steels found in newer vehicles. The firefighters from Green Watch practised removing the roof of the car and pushing the dashboard away from the occupants’ legs, ensuring they could efficiently free trapped individuals in various collision scenarios.

“Thatcham Research is proud to offer its facilities and expertise to first responders, helping them to understand the types of technologies found on modern vehicles and the safest way to work with them.

“Electric Vehicles require unique training on safe handling techniques following a road traffic collision. Time is of the essence in the immediate aftermath of a road traffic collision, so it’s vital that first responders are confident when working around high voltage vehicles, including how to ensure the vehicle is powered down and the location of safe cutting points.”
Sean Hoad, Senior engineer for passive safety & instrumentation, Thatcham Research.

Watch Manager Adam Brailsford said that this kind of training exercise is important for crews and he would be sharing the learning more widely within the service.

The industry will once again be gathering at the NEC, Birmingham for The Emergency Services Show, co located with The Emergency Tech Show on 18-19 September, check out the full exhibitor list here. You can find Thatcham Research in Hall 5, stand J248.