Is An Electric Bus A Fire Risk – CleanTechnica

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Recent news from New Zealand has ignited a harsh and misinformed commentary on electric buses. It appears that a petrol Subaru crashed head on into a passenger bus. Sadly, the bus driver died and the occupants of the car were injured. The callous comments on the news article are worse, sullying the memory of those affected by this tragedy. Watch the video and read the comments here.

The Auckland Transport bus was engulfed in flames, provoking controversy. In the wake of the “news,” an Auckland city councillor says he’s “disappointed with the level of misinformation circulating about a fatal collision.” North Shore Councillor Richard Hills called the misinformation “bizarre anti-EV propaganda.” He felt the need to reassure people that catching a public electric bus was “perfectly safe.” He took to social media to reassure people that catching an electric bus was safe.

“Just like all types of vehicles there will be times we sadly have EV bus collisions and/or fires, and we know batteries can be harder to put out,” Hills said. “That’s why there are fire safety systems and technology built in and around the batteries.” In fact, the fire started in the petrol car’s engine and the bus’s batteries were undamaged. These facts were confirmed by bus operator Kinetic and Auckland’s Fire and Emergency Department.

As various articles in CleanTechnica have repeatedly pointed out: data from the UK, America, and Australia has shown that electric vehicles are far less likely to catch fire than petrol vehicles. The most up-to-date data can be found at EVfiresafe.com. You can see the data here.

Councillor Hills pointed out that there have been many fires in diesel vehicles, but no one is calling for a ban. “In August we had an old diesel bus catch fire on the Shore. Two years ago another diesel caught fire on Fanshawe St. Ten days ago, 28 cars caught fire at Whāngarei Hospital and were completely ruined by a hot exhaust starting a fire. None of those horrible incidents mean we should ban diesel vehicles.”

I don’t hear of people refusing to travel in diesel cars or buses. Why is it that we accept petrol and diesel vehicle fires without a qualm and yet when there is a fire anywhere near an EV we have rampant scare mongering. There were some nasty comments under the Facebook post, the worst being: “at least it will save on cremation costs! Wait till a bus full of passengers catches fire, it’s only a matter of time!” Lots of old misinformation was then trotted out to denigrate EVs and create fear. Thankfully, plenty of people joined in the conversation, debunking and castigating.

As for allegations that the transition to electric buses is somehow a conspiracy, Hill added: “There is no conspiracy here. The reason we are rolling out EV buses is to reduce emissions, reduce operating costs, reduce noise pollution and reduce air pollution in Auckland, especially around the city centre, our town centres, and neighbourhoods.”

He advised that: “People have different opinions and that’s okay, but I do worry that sometimes people can be so clouded by those views they forget there are real people dealing with things like this on the other end. Check reliable sources or even wait a day or two, misinformation is rife when events are unfolding.”

Think of the harm misinformation can cause, especially to those bereaved.

The frightening thought is that those spreading the lies actually believe them. One of my NZ correspondents got caught up in the resulting traffic jam and said of the hysteria, “It’s just ignorance to continue blaming EV technology.”

From this sad story, we can take some positive news, that the battery was not involved in the fire, and there was no thermal runaway. Electric buses are as safe as or safer than their diesel counterparts.

But, what if a fire does break out? Barry Farrell from Fire Protection Technologies points out that as the transition to electric buses progresses globally, and particularly in Australia and New Zealand, there are risks involved and they can be complex. FPT supplies specialist hazard products to “provide precise, effective fire suppression solutions that are customised to protect critical or sensitive assets where standard sprinkler systems could be too harsh or ineffective.”

Farrell points out: “Despite the rapid growth of electric buses across Australia, there are currently no national standards or requirements specifically addressing fire safety in EV buses, charging depots or maintenance facilities. Traditional buses have long been covered under established fire protection codes, but with the evolving nature of EV technology, new risks aren’t yet reflected in legislation or building guidelines. This could lead to some problems for the industry.

“When a lithium-ion battery goes into thermal runaway, it can spread rapidly, especially when buses are parked closely together in depots charging overnight.

“In Europe, where many bus depots are fully enclosed, that creates an even higher risk. Instead of dumping lots of water on the batteries like a traditional sprinkler, the mist system sprays super-fine droplets that quickly soak up heat and turn to steam. This steam helps choke the fire by pushing away the oxygen it needs to keep burning. Due to the droplets being so small, the system can cool a fire from over 500°C down to about 50°C in under a minute.

“It’s not about extinguishing the fire immediately, but buying time, limiting its spread and reducing risk to first responders.”

The benefits of high-pressure water-mist systems aren’t just limited to fire safety.

Due to high-pressure water-mist systems using significantly less water than traditional sprinklers, they greatly reduce the amount of contaminated runoff that can carry hazardous chemicals, debris and pollutants into the environment, helping to protect nearby waterways and reduce cleanup costs after a fire event.

“We need collaboration between government, insurers, engineers and the fire protection industry to create a national standard for fire safety in EV bus depots or charging environments,” he says.

In other news, the transition of bus fleets to electric continues apace in Australia. Six new King Long EVolution low-floor electric bus chassis began service in Melbourne, Victoria. New Zealand’s Global Bus Ventures provided the locally-produced body, built for high frequency airport operations. “Together, this partnership unites local build content (Australia/New Zealand) with global innovation and scale — delivering the best of both worlds for operators who demand reliability, performance and class-leading efficiency,” Bus Stop Sales says.

On the other side of the country, SkyBus (owned by Kinetic) will introduce two electric buses for airport services in Perth, Western Australia. It is expected that within 10 years, the airport fleet will be fully electric. Perth airport is experiencing record passenger numbers. It is fast becoming one of Australia’s fastest-growing aviation hubs. Kinetic’s airport portfolio includes “airside and landside transport services at Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Auckland airports. In Melbourne, SkyBus plans to convert its entire fleet to electric by 2031, while its Sydney Airport operations are on track to be 100 per cent electric by 2030.”

Meanwhile, in Europe, BYD has delivered its 5,000th electric bus. “The landmark achievement makes BYD the first OEM to reach this milestone in the region. The vehicle was delivered to Umove, a major public transport operator in Denmark. This milestone vehicle is also the first BYD eBus B12.b to be delivered in Europe, marking a significant step forward in sustainable public transportation.” You can watch the video here.

An Electric bus poses a lower fire risk than a diesel counterpart. As more and more of them take to the roads in Australia, New Zealand, and Europe, commuters can be assured that the future is bright, clean, quiet, SAFE, and electric.