Tactical Edge Tuesday
Lithium-Ion Batteries – The What and Why
As first responders, we have a duty to understand and adapt to the changing environment that technology and progress brings. A large focus in recent years has been the emerging technology of lithium-ion batteries and power systems. Understanding these devices and the challenges they bring as first responders will ultimately help us provide better service to our customers (taxpayers).
Lithium-Ion batteries have been around since the early 1990s with Sony releasing the first rechargeable lithium-ion battery in 1991. While these devices are not new, the rising interest in alternative fuel vehicles and the increased demand in cheaper overseas manufactured products have brought new concerns for the American fire service.
Lithium-Ion battery packs have increased in size and storage capacity to accommodate the greater energy demand needed to run the devices they power such as electric scooters, vehicles, phones, and other electronic devices. Failures in these batteries are known as thermal runaway. A topic we will dive into in part two of this series.
These thermal runaway events are usually fast and give little to no warning. Thermal runaways can produce high heat and fast fire propagation, requiring rescuers to be quicker and more technically minded in our approach to combat these types of fires. Traditional water on fire methods of attack do not necessarily work with Lithium-Ion fueled fires. Below is a video showing thermal runaway in Lithium-Ion devices.
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