how to put out a lithium battery fire

How to extinguish lithium battery fires

(1.) Reasonable choice of extinguishing agent, scientific disposal of lithium fires

1. If you encounter a small fire (mobile phone lithium battery burning or some small electronic devices such as laptop batteries) when the battery appears spontaneous combustion, the battery should immediately do continuous cooling treatment, water extinguishing is the most ideal solution.

If the fire is large, you can use an ABC dry powder extinguisher or CO2 type extinguisher to extinguish the open fire, then use water to continuously cool down the damaged battery and observe if it will still spontaneously combust (internal smoking sparks etc.) until it cools down completely."

2. If a high-voltage battery or some large lithium batteries for commercial and domestic energy storage are on fire, quickly remove the combustible material around the battery or move the burning object to an open area to flame-retardantly block the combustible material, if absolutely safe conditions allow. Lithium batteries have to be extinguished with a large amount of water, requiring long time and patience, and cooling is crucial. Water for fire fighting should be available in sufficient quantities. If it is obvious that the fire cannot be controlled or there is a risk of explosion and spillage, you should call the fire brigade at the first opportunity and take your family to an open and safe area if possible (smoke is harmful to your body. Do not breathe in the smoke that comes out.) Wait for help if possible.

(2.) Keep a safe distance and handle emergencies correctly

1. In the event of an open fire, you should also avoid using a foam extinguisher. The sprayed foam adheres to the periphery of the battery to form a thermal insulator, thus increasing the chemical reaction and generating more heat.

2. It is forbidden to use ice to cool down lithium batteries. The use of ice is like an igloo covering the outside, while causing the heat inside to not escape, and the continuous high temperature further contributes to the intensification of the chemical reaction.

3. Never use fire extinguishing supplies such as fire blankets to try to suppress the flames as this will result in heat not being dissipated and accelerating the development of thermal runaway.

4. In the case of a large fire with toxic smoke, it is necessary to leave the fire or the room as soon as possible. When escaping, you can take wet clothes or a towel to cover your nose and mouth to reduce the amount of toxic gas entering your body and quickly escape to an open area.

After the fire has been extinguished, you should not approach the battery blindly, but wait until the battery module has cooled down or the battery is free from any spontaneous combustion before handling it and moving it out of the battery compartment. It is best to move the battery on fire outdoors as far as possible in absolute safety and then call the fire service to deal with it.

6. When using water to extinguish a fire, absolute care should be taken to ensure that the household power lines are turned off and that all electrical circuits are completely shut down before using water safely to extinguish the fire and prevent the risk of electric shock.

7. Dry powder extinguishers should not be used when high-voltage batteries or commercial energy storage lithium batteries are on fire: although dry powder extinguishers can put out the open fire in the initial situation, dry powder extinguishers do not reduce the internal temperature of lithium batteries, and lithium batteries that are extinguished are prone to re-ignition and even explosion.

(3.) On-site monitoring of thermal runaway temperature to prevent re-ignition

1. When thoroughly inspecting the fire with the lithium battery cooled or without re-ignition, do not come into contact with any high voltage components or toxic liquids and always use insulated tools for inspection

2. It may take up to 24 hours for a battery fire to be fully extinguished. Using a thermal imaging camera will ensure that the high voltage battery is completely cooled down before the incident is over. If a thermal imaging camera is not available, the battery must be monitored to see if it will reignite. Smoke indicates that the battery is still hot and monitoring should be maintained until at least one hour after the battery has stopped smoking.

In summary: how to put out a lithium battery fire

In the event of a battery fire in a mobile phone or small electrical appliance, if there is an open flame and a lot of toxic smoke, you should open a window and ventilate the area around the spontaneously combusting battery or disconnect the power supply. If conditions permit, the object on fire can be immersed in water and cooled down quickly. After observing that the battery does not show any signs of spontaneous re-ignition, ensure that it is safe to dispose of it.