Incident in Belgium on the 30th of October 2023 with another near miss involving a lithium battery (this one was a Hybrid Vehicle with Lithium Battery involved). This is why I’m a big advocate of further training, and national guidance on this subject, not because I’m against EV’s but because I’m against crews not being aware of risks present. If we arrive at a vehicle like this, our primary focus needs to be on the potential for a vapour cloud explosion, vapour cloud ignition or battery explosion as that will be our primary risk. If safe to do so, one of the best tactics can often (if ignition or thermal event is present) be to allow a controlled burn, also remember TICs can be great for identifying potential issues with an EV battery, however the vapour cloud can prevent the TIC from being effective (Gas Detectors also great prior to thermal event to detect early stages). Whilst these types of events with cars are extremely rare, they are happening more and more frequently with light electric vehicles such as e-bikes and e-scooters etc. For more information on this type of incident, there’s some great resources available on evfiresafe.com or by searching Professor Paul Christensen on YouTube. Video Credit: Brandweer Gent, Fire Department of Ghent

A terrifying event of thermal runaway, appears to be a battery for an E-Scooter or E-Bike, battery appears not to be damaged so would suggest overcharge or similar.