An electric car fire in a car park can indeed be extinguished quickly and effectively. FIFI4PARKING proved this with their innovative detection and extinguishing system during a recent field test.
The debate about the risks of electric car fires in car parks regularly flares up. It is often argued that such fires can hardly be extinguished. However, recent field tests show that effective solutions do exist.
FIFI4PARKING, a member of industry platform Vexpan, has developed an innovative, fully automatic detection and extinguishing system. This system monitors each individual car park, locates incipient fires at lightning speed and extinguishes them in a targeted manner with biodegradable foam. A demonstration at the certified test facility MPA in Dresden proved that a fire in an electric car can be effectively brought under control within minutes.
Besides automatic detection and extinguishing, the system is coupled with a special ventilation system for the rapid evacuation of fire and smoke gases. This significantly reduces the risk of damage to people, building and environment.
Currently, the FIFI4PARKING system is already being applied in several new car parks under development.
Link to; https://vexpan.nl/
The cargo ship Morning Midas, flying a Liberian flag, with over 3,000 vehicles on board, including dozens of electric and hybrid models, is still drifting on fire in the North Pacific Ocean, about 350 kilometres south of Adak, Alaska.
Despite the crew's emergency measures and the activation of the ship's fire extinguishing system, the fire escalated. All 22 crew members had to leave the ship to reach safety. They escaped in lifeboats and were rescued unharmed by the merchant ship Cosco Hellas.
According to the latest updates, the Morning Midas is still burning. Aerial inspections were conducted Sunday by a Coast Guard HC-130J Super Hercules.
Story does not stand alone.
Unfortunately, the story of this cargo ship, the Morning Midas, is not an isolated one. More often, large ships are hit by fire in the middle of the sea. It is also not the first time electric vehicles have been involved in the fire. Perhaps they did not lead to the fire but were involved. Unfortunately, then, these electric vehicle fires not only greatly accelerate and intensify the fire. It is then very difficult to eventually be able to extinguish the fire.
It is difficult in the middle of the sea anyway, emergency services will only be able to reach the ship after some time. It therefore gives the fire time to expand. Thus, it can cause more damage and increase the danger to crew and passengers. Climate and weather conditions can also play a big role in this at sea.
It is therefore imperative in the event of a fire on a ship that the fire is quickly detected and quickly extinguished. Especially if Lithium Ion batteries are involved, for example for on-board power supply or transporting vehicles equipped with Lithium Ion batteries.
Time is then of the essence in preventing crew and/or passengers from being endangered. It then ensures that enormous amounts of damage can be prevented. The impact on the environment is thus also greatly reduced or even prevented.
Then safely sailing to a port to allow passengers and crew to disembark and make any repairs to the ship is therefore more realistic.
FIFI4MARINE's firefighting solution could have made a big difference in the case of Morning Midas.
Project 824 from renowned shipyard Feadship, is shipped to Rotterdam from Kaag yard.
The second-longest yacht built at this yard is a technical masterpiece. Almost no vibrations can be felt on board thanks to several modern systems.
It is a joint venture between Shipyard Royal van Lent and Royal De Vries Shipbuilding. The 101.5-long and 13.5-metre-wide ship can be called impressive.
Feadship De Voogt Naval Architects is responsible for the naval architecture. The interior design is by French Liagre. The exterior was designed by Finnish Navia. The superyacht houses a gym, beauty salon, beach club, deck jacuzzi and several lounges.
A diesel-electric drive with ABB pods ensures low vibration and efficient performance.
For the fire safety of the batteries installed on board for the ship's power supply and partly for propulsion, a fire extinguishing system by FIFI4MARINE was installed.
The major fire on the freighter Fremantle Highway could have been prevented with the right extinguishing system on board, at least claims Cor Meedendorp, director of FIFI4MARINE. His company specialises in fighting lithium fires on board ships. The company is now also starting to install extinguishing systems in car parks, where electric cars are parked and charged.
According to the lithium expert, large investments are needed to make cargo ships fire-safe. "And the one who decides is usually not the technician, that's the one behind the calculator," Meedendorp argues. "If you have 50 or 100 ships as a shipping company and you have to start investing EUR 2 to 3 million per ship to install another extinguishing system, it is often more advantageous to keep your insurance premium a bit higher. And 'just' accept that once every 10 years one of your ships burns down," he continues.
FIFI4MARINE, based in Zwaag, Noord-Holland, started developing an automated, unmanned extinguishing system seven years ago. "The system reacts immediately after detecting gas and temperature. The fire is extinguished before it can develop with a biological foam. It gives no contamination or corrosion, it is PFAS-free and no toxic fumes are released. You intervene before the fire develops to an uncontrollable level," states the founder. The stuff, which resembles shaving foam, is moved through pipes to where it is needed. According to Meedendorp, the Netherlands is "a bit averse" to the use of foam because until now it has all been very chemical and harmful to the environment.
Especially in car parks
Meanwhile, FIFI4MARINE has equipped around 20 ocean-going vessels and luxury yachts with its extinguishing systems. Nine of these are so-called ro-ro ships of the Italian shipping company Grimaldi. "Number 10 and 11 are now in production," he said. The company is now also going to install the systems in car parks. "We are working on a large project in Rotterdam and we are in talks about a car park in The Hague," says Grimaldi. Fire Brigade Netherlands recently voiced concerns about fires in electric cars, which are hardly extinguishable. This is especially a problem in parking garages.
Cooperation necessary
According to Meedendorp, this can be solved. "By monitoring 24/7, we can take immediate action unmanned. With sensors connected to our monitoring systems, we know exactly what is happening in which car park. In case of fire, we also activate the two adjacent spots. We then apply foam very briefly to ensure that flames from the first car do not spread. "With the help of the fire brigade, the vehicle can then be brought out on a special roller system or via the automatic parking system." FIFI4MARINE stresses that cooperation with the Fire Service is necessary. Source: ANP
Some time ago, FIFI4MARINE in partnership with ZERO EMISSION SERVICES offered a solution to support inland shipping. This secure solution consists of interchangeable energy containers (ZESpacks), loading infrastructure and a simple pay-per-use payment system. With this solution, the Alphenaar sails, being the first vessel to use interchangeable energy containers for electric propulsion.
It is sailing with two ZESpacks on board and changing at the first charging station at Alpherium, CCT's container terminal in Alpen aan de Rijn. FIFI4MARINE ensures the safe storage and operation of these battery systems by installing a fire extinguishing system for Lithium Ion batteries in the container. This makes the solution safe ashore, in the loading bay and on the barge.
An electric car suddenly caught fire. This caused cargo ship Felicity Ace to sink off the Azores in February with millions worth of very expensive cars on board. FIFI4Marine in Zwaag, North Holland, has the solution to quickly extinguish these kinds of fires. More information can be read in the article published in the Schutevaer, Maritime Innovation Platform, where Cor Meedendorp CEO of the company explains how.
Electric car firebomb on ship. Off the coast of the Azores on Wednesday, cargo ship Felicity Ace with millions worth of extremely expensive cars on board caught fire until a fortnight ago. Medemblik-based company FiFi4Marine claims the solution to quickly extinguish such fires.
Felicity Ace was a 60,000-tonne roll-on/roll-off freighter (pure car/truck) built by Shin Kurushima Dockyard in 2005. It was owned and operated by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines of Japan and the ship was registered in Panama. It caught fire south of the Azores in February 2022 while transporting vehicles from Germany to the United States. The ship capsized and sank in early March with an estimated cargo worth more than $ 400 million.
The ship departed on 10 February 2022 from Emden, Germany, with 3,965 Volkswagen Group cars on board, including models from Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini and Bentley.
Source: Wikipedia
Article on this topic in The Guardian
Article on this topic in the Schuttevaer
The Felicity Ace was a cargo ship built in 2005 that sank in 2022 after a fire. The ship was a roll-on/roll-off freighter used to transport vehicles, mainly cars. The vessel was owned by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and was registered in Panama.
Off the coast of the Azores, cargo ship Felicity Ace with millions worth of extremely expensive cars on board had caught fire until a fortnight ago. Zwaag-based company FIFI4MARINE claims to offer the solution to quickly extinguish this kind of fire.