EV Charging Fire Safety for Office Parks, Malls and Commercial Parking

• Basement fires fill with smoke quickly and are hard for firefighters to reach
• An EV fire can spread to neighbouring vehicles
• E-scooters charged in corridors block escape routes
• Poor-quality wiring and chargers overload circuits

1. Location. Put chargers in well-ventilated areas, preferably at ground level or near ramps, away from exits and staircases.

2. Electrical safety. Use certified chargers installed by licensed electricians, with dedicated circuits, earth leakage protection and an emergency power cut-off switch at the entry. 3. Detection. Extend smoke and heat detection to the charging area and link it to the building fire alarm.

4. Equipment on the wall. Lithium battery (AVD) extinguishers, ABC extinguishers and anEVcar fire blanket stored in a visible cabinet near the charging bay.

5. E-bike charging room. A dedicated room or battery charging cabinets for e-scooter batteries, instead of charging in lobbies and flats.

6. Signage and rules. Clear signage for emergency shut-off, no-parking zones in front of equipment and a ban on corridor charging.

7. Training. Train guards and maintenance staff on the shut-off switch, fire blanket and evacuation.

A large fire-resistant blanket is pulled over the burning car. It cuts off oxygen to the flames, limits smoke and stops the fire from spreading to other cars while the fire brigade arrives. It can be deployed by two trained people in under a minute.