'A step in the right direction': Libertyville has new tool to battle electric vehicle battery fires

There are many considerations when buying an electric vehicle but there is one constant - if the lithium-ion battery catches fire it's really hard to put out.

"Currently, the only way to extinguish an EV fire is to pour thousands of gallons of water on it until the battery burns itself out," explained Libertyville Fire Chief Mike Pakosta.

That can take an hour or longer, require a lot of water and tie up resources, he added.

With EV sales expected to increase, Pakosta researched the issue and found an alternative.

"The only effective method is to pierce the battery compartment and cool the thermal runaway (reaction) taking place in the battery bank," he said.

To do that, the department in partnership with the Libertyville Fire Protection District invested $30,000 for equipment specifically designed to quickly extinguish fires involving lithium-ion high voltage batteries in electric vehicles.

Pakosta said Libertyville is the first in the Chicago area and possibly the state to have the Battery Extinguishing System Technology (BEST) by Austria-based Rosenbauer Group.

The fire protection district contracts with Libertyville for fire and rescue services in areas north and east of the village and helps with various needs.

Pakosta was optimistic it would be a "game changer" in how fire services can safely and effectively extinguish EV fires.

"It's only going to get more prevalent because the (EV) market is growing so fast," according to Pakosta.

Until now, firefighters surrounded and "drowned" a vehicle until the battery burned itself out, Pakosta said.

But that's not possible in an enclosed parking garage, for example.

"That strategy is not safe for anyone involved," he said. The plan now is to cover an EV with a fireproof blanket until the new equipment is in place to extinguish the fire in a fraction of the time, saving water and resources and improving safety, he added.

Chuck Smith, chief of the Vernon Hills-based Countryside Fire Protection District and head of the Lake County Fire Chiefs Association, said conversation on the issue continues.

"We are still trying to learn what the best practices for these kinds of fires are," he said. "Although EV fires are rare when compared to internal combustion engine vehicle fires, extinguishing them has proved to be difficult in many circumstances."

In August, for example, Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District crews worked an hour and 45 minutes and used roughly 10,000 gallons of water to extinguish a Tesla battery fire just south of Route 120 in Round Lake. In that case, the vehicle crashed and the unconscious driver was pulled from the burning car.

Smith said he's heard reports of EV vehicles being towed to accident lots and catching fire the next day. Flood damaged EVs also are a concern, he added.

The challenges for firefighters increase as the number of EVs and charging stations, including in parking garages, grows, Smith said.

"We don't have all the answers yet and the tool that Libertyville just purchased is a step in the right direction," he said.

However, Smith noted at this point, lithium-ion fires in general, especially involving devices or equipment charged indoors, are probably more a concern than EV vehicle fires.