Luton Airport Fire: EV Parking May Need a Rethink on Risk

UPDATE 23.10.2023

Latest mainstream media press statement from Bedfordshire Police is that a man has been arrested and bailed as part of the investigation into the cause of the fire. The Police are still sticking to the story that it was a diesel car that ignited first too.

Although the Police are now also speculating that some sort of accidental damage to a vehicle might have started the fire. That’s interesting as there is a remote possibility that some sort of theft attempt could have caused an electrical fire, or perhaps a catalyser theft via angle grinder may have also created the right circumstances for ignition. Unlikely on a diesel though.

As regards moving cars from the car park, the Airport are stating that it’s unsafe to attempt any vehicle removal, apart from 100 cars on the top storey of the car park.

More here.

UPDATE 16.10.2023

It is still not clear whether the fire started in a vehicle that was a diesel or a diesel hybrid. The flashpoint for diesel fuel vapour is around 126 degrees Fahrenheit, which means the fuel would require an external heat source to provide combustion. That could be an electrical fire, which usually occurs in diesel vehicles around the engine bay when the engine is running (therefore hot) and the electrical systems are all functioning – thereby providing ignition sparks or flames.

Alternatively, the intense heat from a malfunctioning hybrid battery could also provide enough heat to light diesel fuel, plus ignite other cars with petrol or diesel in the tanks parked nearby, or EVs parked nearby. There is some useful information on how battery pack/EV fires can spread to vehicles or buildings nearby here, plus the amount of water needed to extinguish such fire.

A typical in-car fire extinguisher is not usually sufficient to tackle a battery pack fire in a hybrid or pure EV. Often fire crews simply let EVs in open spaces burn themselves out, although that isn’t an option in a public car park, or near properties like offices, shops or houses.

CAN OWNERS GET TO THEIR CARS AT LUTON?

The Association of British Insurers has issued an advice statement to guide car owners and holidaymakers, all of whom might be making an insurance claim. More here. 

It is unlikely that the car park will see any lightly damaged cars removed anytime soon. The structure obviously needs to be made safe before any operations like that can take place. Some regional and local media are reporting that car owners are receiving little by way of comms in that respect.

The Independent speculates that some personal items might be recovered from cars before the entire car park is demolished. It is perhaps the cheapest option for insurers, as rebuilding next to a busy airport would be a painfully slow logistical exercise. In any event, a new car park with an automated sprinkler system could be the only real choice given the public criticism of the airport, plus it might be compliant with future legislation on car parks with EV charging points.

BATTERY PACKS IN HYBRIDS AND EVs ARE AN INSURANCE HEADACHE

There’s background from Reuters here on insurers making the safe choice of writing off cars that have suspected battery pack damage. The battery pack is often a stressed member of the car chassis, that is to say it is load bearing, like some walls inside a house for example. It battery pack carries passenger weight like the rest of the floorpan and obviously absorbs force during an impact.

For that reason, any car with a battery pack may well be written-off by insurers, since the cost of extracting and checking the battery pack integrity is 100% safe, is often more than the vehicle value secondhand. So salvage of the vehicle, which may have a perfectly good diesel engine, dashboard, couple of wheels, tyres, seats and other parts, plus the claims payout to the owner/leaseholder of the car, is the most cost effective solution for the insurance company.

More written off hybrids and EVs will probably drive premiums up, but the alternative is to allow complex EV/hybrid battery pack repairs, which may – or may not – be as safe as brand new fitment. It also requires new repair network infrastructure, training and storage of battery packs ina  safe, fire-resistant environment. Maybe the solution is regulation requiring car manufacturers to refurbish battery packs, with QR undertrays enabling cost-effective battery pack replacement or swaps by dealers or repair shops?

ORIGINAL POST 11.10.2023

We shall have to wait for an official investigation into the cause of the Luton airport car park fire, according the latest statement from Bedfordshire Fire Service, (photo above credited to them) who estimate that 1200 vehicles have been damaged in the blaze. The building itself is probably damaged beyond repair too, so a new build will be the only option. An expensive claim but thankfully no lives lost.

Here’s the word from Beds Fire & Rescue;

“Crews have worked extremely hard throughout the night and into the early morning to control and extinguish the fire. Firefighting operations are monitoring the smoldering remains and will continue throughout the day. Currently four crews and an aerial appliance remain at the scene, and crews are working in conjunction with the airport fire service.

All flights are suspended until 3pm. If you have a flight leaving before 3pm, please do not travel to the airport. Please avoid the area owing to severe traffic delays.

Fire crews were faced with a rapidly escalating fire and declared a major incident at 21:38. A severe fire rapidly spread through the structure and the severity of the fire has caused significant structural collapse. It is believed that up to 1,200 vehicles may have been in the car park at the time of the fire and subsequently damaged. Firefighting operations were undertaken to control the blaze and protect nearby buildings, vehicles, aircraft, and the Luton DART.”

SYDNEY AIRPORT PARKING BLAZE

There’s more background here on a fire that started at Sydney airport parking facility – open air – when a battery pack was detached from a vehicle. It’s not clear from the story if that battery pack was being scrapped, charged, or utilised as back up to start dead vehicles. But those scenarios are possible.

Again no loss of life, and because the cars were outside the spread of the blaze was limited. It’s possible that low roof height multi-storey car parks act as an accelerant for lithium battery fires, essentially deflecting heat and flames sideways.

THE BATTERY PACK & OVERNIGHT CHARGING PROBLEM

This isn’t the first fire involving EV vehicles, although the Luton incident could be arson of course, just like the cause of so many climate change wildfires last summer.

Even if battery pack problems aren’t the cause, the proximity of battery packs to another ICE vehicle on fire is a consideration for every insurer storing cars as part of the claims process. It surely has to be a factor in parking cars in multi-storey car parks or basement level parking facilities in the future too, assuming everyone is forced to use battery cars rather than conventional petrol and diesel. Perhaps cramming cars into ever narrower spaces in public car parks is a fire risk in itself?

Then there’s overnight home charging when most occupants of the houses nearby will be asleep. Again, insurers need to agree on which charging systems meet the highest safety standards, plus monitor installer records as part of the motor quote, surely?

PREMIUMS MUST RISE

For insurers, the already expensive premiums being charged on some EV models might have to increase more, and the quote pages amended on comparison sites, so that highly detailed information on parking/charging locations at night, and parking location when commuting to a regular workplace, are all part of pricing risk.

Knowing which charging system is being used, who installed it, when the charger and battery car itself was checked and serviced is arguably essential for quote and renewals. It should also be best practice for insurers to check that ALL factory recalls have been carried out on EV cars, vans and buses at the renewal stage. It’s all extra admin of course and that means premiums should reflect the more detailed picture of the EV vehicle that is necessary to quote on the risk accurately.

FIRE RISK AS A PERCENTAGE OF VEHICLE PARC

Many promoters of electric cars point out that petrol and diesel car fires are 20 times more likely etc. True, that is because there are still only about 3% of all cars in the UK which have a plug-in cable feature. The other 97% are petrol or diesel.

In 2019 Fleet News did some FOI research in London which showed the percentage fire risk on battery pack cars was higher than for non-battery pack cars. Part of the reason for that higher risk is the cutting edge development of battery packs with greater range and rapid charging – all tied to the climate change relig-sorry political movement.

As manufacturers try to sell more affordable battery cars the process of extracting raw materials, making battery packs, shipping them to assembly factories and then storing and selling them, has to be made cheaper. Technology will also advance, which will probably make battery cars safer over time. Charging points too need to be viewed as an experimental technology, so regulation is needed there on locations, safety cut-outs, smartphone or site alert systems in commercial or workplace settings. The same thing happened with early steam cars and then petrol cars in the early 20th century; lives were lost, fires occurred and regulation and tech evolved to make the refuelling and storage of those petrol vehicles a less risky process.

If you found this article useful give it a like, as it helps us deal with the Google algorithm malarkey.