FIRE SAFETY While there is plenty of guidance already
available on lithium batteries, none of it is NHS-specific, the speaker emphasised. He explained: “None of it recognises that we have patients with mobility impairments, and progressive horizontal evacuation strategies where we’re keeping people inside the building, nor the use of oxygen we have NHS-wide. So, there are clear gaps in the guidance and our knowledge base.”
Figure 5: PV fire-fighting risk.
related fire incidents, with increasing energy density – with the devices involved ranging from mobile phone and e-bikes, to EVs and electric buses, highlighting the sudden explosive and volatile nature of failing lithium batteries. Anthony Pitcher said that while these
weren’t necessarily daily occurrences, ‘we should nevertheless be prepared for them’. He next explained that the key failure modes with lithium batteries are short circuit, overcharging, or mechanical damage. He said: “As you could see in the slides, if such a battery starts to deteriorate, it self-heats, with an exothermic reaction, and ‘thermal runaway’ can occur, leading to ‘gassing off’, and then potential ignition. Of course it’s not just the flames and heat release from such incidents that are dangerous; the associated vapours are highly toxic.”
Extinguishers The speaker next asked: ‘So, what do we do in terms of extinguishers?’ Answering his own question, he explained: “There are a number of solutions available; Lith Ex is one particular product – a vermiculite- based solution, which is very effective for putting out lithium fires. Should we,” he asked, “be providing these extinguishers across our estate, and encouraging staff to tackle lithium battery-generated fires? From my perspective, absolutely not.
You’ve seen how quickly things can get out of hand; if you have such an incident, turn your back on it and get out. These are some of the questions; it’s an ongoing debate, and we don’t yet have all the answers.” Anthony Pitcher said he would now
turn to UPS and battery energy storage systems (BESS). He said: “Here the focus should be looking at what the sector dubs ‘Proportionate Precautions’.” He asked delegates: “But what does that look like? Should we have a sliding scale stipulating that – for example – a 20 kilowatt hour (kWh) UPS needs half-hour protection, a 50 kilowatt unit one hour’s protection, and a 100 kilowatt UPS an hour’s protection plus suppression? We don’t currently have the answers, but these are some of the things requiring discussion.” He continued: “We can’t do much about UPS system location because they generally need to be pretty close to the equipment they’re protecting, because of voltage drop etc. However, we can certainly look at enclosure protection. Also, on a related note – going back to energy storage systems – should we even be contemplating putting BESS systems inside our buildings? I’d suggest installing these in an outside car park or service yard. Another key consideration is firefighting access, where quick access is essential.”
Existing lithium battery guidance Discussing the guidance that does exist, Anthony Pitcher explained that the RISCAuthority RC61 guidance is a ‘pretty good guide’, as is the Euralarm guidance on Integrated fire protection solutions for Lithium-ion batteries. He added: “Research is ongoing, and of course the whole suite of Firecode (HTM 05-02) is up for review. The implications of the decarbonisation agenda will be covered in that. However, in advance of this – because Firecode is 12-18 months away, NHS England is looking to issue some interim guidance on the risks associated with the lithium batteries – which should be available soon.” Here, Anthony Pitcher said he would
discuss the third major topic in his presentation – electric vehicles, or ‘EVs’. He said: “We all want EVs that go further, and can be charged faster, but that comes with elevated risks.” While EVs didn’t catch fire every day, when they did so, it could be ‘pretty serious’. Looking at UK projections from the
Climate Change Committee (Figure 9), the statistics showed that there are currently around 40 million cars registered on UK roads, and in the next 10 years, at least 50% of them will be EVs – ‘a massive change in in our vehicle network’. The speaker said: “Not necessarily a life safety risk, but the biggest challenge facing us with more EVs is from a firefighting perspective.” Discussing some key points set out in the firefighters’ Standard Operating Procedures for EVs, Anthony Pitcher said they recognise that EVs burn hotter and faster than standard internal combustion engines, and recommend cooling the batteries with water, ‘and a lot of it’. He said: “The ‘SOPs’ also recommend monitoring the lithium-ion batteries with thermal imaging cameras, to assess the risk of thermal runaway conditions.” The SOPs also recognised the significant risk of re-ignition. He added: “So, if you get an EV fire, it’s unlikely the firefighters will move the vehicle for a significant period.”
Figure 6: PV inverters and isolation. 40 Health Estate Journal September 2023
Water run-off Another element to consider was water run-off, and the need to contain contaminated water. Anthony Pitcher said that if you currently asked any firefighter what their biggest challenge is, the majority would reply ‘Tackling EV fires’, ‘because they haven’t got the answers yet’.
Courtesy of NHS Wales Shared Service Partnership.
Courtesy of NHS Wales Shared Service Partnership.
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