IIRC, building codes require that parking garages have sprinkler systems. An EV fires requires 3K-8K gallons of water to cool the battery. Are upgrades feasible for parking garages?
In an Australian grid battery fire…
CFA incident controller Ian Beswicke spoke on the blaze, noting the difficulty of tackling such fires. “They are difficult to fight because you can’t put water on the Megapacks… all that does is extend the length of time that the fire burns for.” Acting on advice from Tesla, Beswicke noted that “…the recommend process is you cool everything around it so the fire can’t spread and you let it burn out.”
Lithium is very reactive with water, like from a fire brigade. The reaction produces hydrogen, which likes to burn.
Back when the earth was young, my chemistry teacher was showing samples of various elements. I can’t remember if it was lithium, sodium, or something else, that was so reactive, the sample was kept in a bottle filled with oil of some sort.
Probably sodium or potassium, but it could have been any of the alkaline metals, including lithium.
Sodium is a common choice by high school chem teachers, because it shows off all the sparks and fire when dropped in water without being terribly dangerous. Some of the other metals can get downright scary even for experienced chemists.
Sodium also demonstrates the difference the chemical state makes. Sodium metal reacts violently with water but sodium chloride which everyone is familiar with, is harmless.
