Jakarta, huutoanland Indonesia
—
Incident
electric car fire
(electric vehicle/EV) at a house in the Penjaringan area, North Jakarta, which killed five people, was allegedly triggered by a problem with the charging system.The starting point of the fire most likely came from a charging process that was not supported by adequate electrical infrastructure.
Automotive expert from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) Yannes Martinus Pasaribu explained that according to initial analysis, fires in electric vehicles often start from the use of low-quality chargers or home electrical installations that are not designed to withstand high currents.This condition can trigger overheating, short circuits, and even initial sparks.
So far, officers have not mentioned the electric car that caught fire, but it is suspected to be a Wuling product.
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“It seems that fires in EVs often start in the charging system, where an inadequate charger or home electrical installation can cause overheating, short circuits or initial sparks,” said Yannes via text message, Monday (22/12).
“This factor is the main trigger, especially when the charging process involves high currents that are not compatible with appropriate electrical infrastructure,” said Yannes.
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This situation is even more dangerous if it occurs near flammable materials such as thinner or paint.This accelerated the spread of the fire significantly.
“This initial interaction can quickly escalate if it is near flammable materials such as thinner or paint, which apparently accelerates the spread of fire,” said Yannes.
After the initial fire appears, it breaks down the vehicle’s battery, including lithium ferro phosphate (LFP) which can act as a further trigger.The extreme heat from the initial fire has the potential to trigger thermal runaway, which is a condition of uncontrolled energy release accompanied by flammable gases and thermal explosions.
“Moreover, the environment contains dangerous flammable materials which worsen the situation through a domino effect, where chemical vapors ignite and produce toxic fumes,” he explained.
Based on temporary information, the electric car is known to be parked in a closed and narrow space.This condition is considered to worsen the impact of the fire due to the accumulation of heat and toxic gas, as well as hampering the evacuation and extinguishing process.
“Then, from initial information, it seems that the car was parked in a closed and narrow space, which is increasingly fatal, because the accumulation of heat and gas hinders evacuation and extinguishing,” he said.
Prevention
As a preventive measure, people who own battery electric vehicles (BEV) are advised to implement a multi-layered security system.Starting from using a certified original charger, to an automatic circuit breaker feature installed by a competent technician.
Apart from that, regular inspection of the charging cable is also important to ensure there is no damage, including due to animal bites.
Yannes also recommends that electric vehicles be parked in an open area or separate from the main building, which has good ventilation and is free from flammable materials.
“Also equip the environment with special fire extinguishers for batteries, and carry out regular maintenance on vehicles/charging stations, and ensure that the evacuation routes in our homes are free of obstacles to mitigate the risk of battery fires,” he said.
Yannes also asked the authorities to immediately carry out further investigations to find out the details of the incident.
Chronology according to officers
This incident took place on Jalan Lopis Teluk Gong, Pejagalan, Penjaringan, on Thursday (18/12) at 20.13 WIB.According to officers in the field, the incident started with an explosion while charging the battery, then the thinner was grabbed until the fire grew and engulfed the house.
“The homeowner was charging his electric car when an electrical phenomenon occurred which caused an explosion in the car, then the fire explosion caught oil thinner and paint cans,” said North Jakarta Damkar Operations Head Gatot Sulaiman, Friday (19/12).
The extinguishing process took a long time until the fire was declared completely extinguished this morning at 08.08 WIB.It took 22 fire trucks and 110 personnel to handle this case.
“What burned was 1 empty house, 2 residential units used for online shop business,” he said.
Gatot said that the extinguishing process in an area of around 16.80 meters took a long time because there was a lot of flammable material.
“The cooling process at the fire scene was hampered because there were B3 materials, oil thinner, paint, plastic pellets, paper, and also because access to the crime scene was narrow and partitioned,” he said.
Five people died from this incident, a woman with the initials B (56), a man with the initials TAM (70), a woman with the initials NTL (24), a woman with the initials GSL (7), and a babysitter.
(ryh/mik)
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