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Over 258,000 electric vehicles were registered in Korea in the first quarter of this year.

It is popular as an eco-friendly vehicle because it does not emit air pollutants, but as you can see, the number of fire accidents is steadily increasing.

The fire mainly comes from the battery, but once ignited, it spreads quickly and is not easy to put out again, so it may be dangerous to people in the car.



Reporter Kim Sang-min found out how dangerous this electric vehicle fire is through an experiment.



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A cloud of smoke rose from the underside of the car, and a strong flame suddenly began to splatter.



The flames grow stronger and more quickly, engulfing the front of the vehicle.



In the two-day electric vehicle fire reenactment experiment conducted by the Seoul Fire Department, four vehicles were mobilized.



This experiment was conducted by lighting a lithium-ion battery installed at the bottom of the electric vehicle, and it took a lot of water and time to put out the fire.



More than 1,000 liters of water were used to extinguish any visible sparks per electric vehicle, and more than 4,000 liters were used to cool the battery pack.



In particular, the 'thermal runaway' phenomenon, in which the battery temperature soars to over 800 degrees in an instant, made it difficult to extinguish the fire.



Individual batteries are connected inside the battery pack, and when one battery catches fire, the internal temperature rises rapidly and flammable hydrocarbon gas is emitted.



This high-temperature heat and gas causes a chain explosion to nearby batteries, spreading the fire.



The problem is that it is difficult to cool the heat of this battery.



The electric vehicle fire that occurred in front of the Busan Expressway tollgate on the 4th did not drop the temperature of the battery, so I put it in a water tank for 30 minutes, and this experiment was also proven to be effective.



[Kyeong-Kwan Oh / Head of Rescue Team, Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters: I think it is right to use the (flooded water tank) appropriately to fit the space or something like that.

The idea that stability could be secured (by lowering the temperature) seems to have been confirmed in this reenactment experiment.] A



new method of spraying water by making a hole in the battery inside the vehicle was also tried, but the effect was not great.



Although the occurrence of electric vehicle fires is not higher than that of internal combustion engine vehicles, there is a risk of electric shock and explosion if the high-voltage battery catches fire.



Afterwards, when you call 911, it will be helpful to extinguish the fire if you tell them that it is an electric vehicle.



(Video coverage: Chan-soo Lee, video editing: Tae-ho Yoon, screen provided: Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters)