Premium On Safety - Issue 11, 2013 - 4

ACCIDENT PREVENTION

Knowledge Is Key to Combating
Lithium Battery Fires
Different Battery Types Require Different Methods to Extinguish Flames
By ROB FINFROCK

…knowing the type of battery
involved in a fire is critical to
knowing how to respond to it.
The development of powerful and lightweight lithium batteries enables much of
the advanced technology, including cell
phones and laptop computers, that is
commonplace today both in the air and on
the ground. The very qualities that make
these power cells so attractive, however,
may also create a dangerous situation
onboard an aircraft.
Known for their high charge density
and long shelf life, lithium batteries are
in many ways ideally suited for use in
devices found in aircraft cockpits and
cabins, which is why non-rechargeable
lithium metal cells are found in automatic electronic defibrillators (AEDs)
and smoke hoods. These characteristics
also explain why Boeing opted to use
rechargeable lithium-ion batteries on its
787 “Dreamliner” commercial airliner, as
a fuel-saving measure to power aircraft
systems that formerly relied on hydraulics or engine power.
Despite their widespread use, however,
the inherently volatile nature of lithium
power cells also makes them something
of an unknown quantity when it comes to
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safety. J. Hare Safety & Survival Systems
president Jeff Hare, who has given presentations about lithium battery fires,
noted that lithium battery fires might
result from several factors including
damage, overcharging, lack of proper
ventilation and cooling, and unseen manufacturing defects.
“All technologies are a two-edged
sword,” he added. “In the case of lithium
batteries, the potential problems lie not
only in what might happen, but also with
educating crew members and others about
how to properly respond to battery fires.”
Lithium battery fires a growing concern
The Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) noted that, through October 2012,
there have been 132 fires reported
onboard commercial aircraft in which
lithium batteries were suspected of playing a role. The severity of these events
ranged from small fires involving flashlights, personal electronic devices like
cell phones, and even personal air purifiers and electronic cigarettes, to largescale thermal runaway events resulting in
significant damage to the aircraft.
In one confirmed case, a lithium battery fire burned through the skin of a
United Parcel Service (UPS) Douglas DC-8
freighter on approach to Philadelphia. An
uncontained thermal event inside a shipment of lithium cells is also suspected in
the September 2010 downing of a UPS
Boeing 747-400F near Dubai.
Most recently, the potential dangers
of lithium battery fires onboard aircraft
have come under renewed scrutiny following a series of highly publicized fires
involving the Boeing 787, including
in-flight electrical fires aboard aircraft
operated by All Nippon Airways (ANA) and
United Airlines. Ground crews discovered
another fire in the aft electronics bay of
a JAL Dreamliner shortly after the aircraft
landed in Boston, Massachusetts after a
13-hour flight from Tokyo.

Identify battery type before trying to
extinguish fire
Hare stressed that knowing the type
of battery involved in a fire is critical
to knowing how to respond to it. For
example, conventional aviation fire suppression materials, including Halon,
are ineffective with fires involving nonrechargeable lithium batteries.
“They’ll knock down the flames, but
won’t arrest thermal runaway,” he noted.
“Further, Halon and water will react with
the lithium metal, releasing toxic and
combustible [hydrogen] gases.”
For these kinds of fires, cutting off
the fire’s oxygen supply through use of
a blanketing material is critical. Ground
crews responding to a lithium battery
fire may use dry sand or salt to cut off
oxygen to the fire and provide thermal
disbursement. These solutions are not
practical for fires that occur in the air,
however, which makes containment the
overriding priority.
When dealing with fires involving
rechargeable cells—enabled by using a
lithium-based electrolyte solution—the
procedures are notably different. Hare
noted that Halon and water, or another
nonflammable liquid, are recommended
for combating these kinds of fires, as
lithium compounds do not react to these
substances as pure lithium does.
“In either case, arresting the thermal
runaway is still key; you need to immediately cool the batteries down to stop the
cascading chemical reaction,” he added.
“Once the thermal runaway is stopped,
the battery should then be moved to a
safe location if possible, to reduce the
likelihood of reigniting.”
Knowledge is key, and resources
are available
When it comes to proper training for identifying and combating lithium battery fires,
“the information is out there,” Hare said, “but
the problem is that few people look at it.”
(continued on page 5)
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