Electric vehicles and electric vehicle charging points are still relatively unknown quantities in the UK.
Most people still aren’t entirely sure what potential safety risks they pose or how to look after them correctly.
If you’re a landlord, freeholder, or managing agent, and you want to make it possible for people to park and charge their electric vehicles in your building, you’re in the right place.
Alex MacArthur, director at North West Fire Solutions, breaks down the main fire risks associated with electric vehicles and electric vehicle charging points and explains how you can minimise and manage risk levels moving forward.
In this article
Fire safety risks posed by electric vehicle batteries and charging points
How landlords and managing agents can address knowledge gaps
What does the legislation say about EVs and charging points?
What does a fire risk assessment take into account?
Red flags fire risk assessors pick up on
Book your fire risk assessment with North West Fire Solutions
What fire safety risks do electric vehicle batteries and charging points pose?
Electric vehicle batteries and the associated charging points haven’t been around long. People and businesses are still familiarising themselves with how they work and how to get them installed.
Unlike in other areas of fire safety, there isn’t a lot of data that we can draw upon in order to truly understand the full range of risks associated with electric vehicles.
We’re obviously aware that electric vehicles and their charging systems come with specific risks. We don’t see many incidents involving them, but when we do, they tend to be serious. That’s why the potential risks need to be taken seriously and given adequate attention.
One of the major risks associated with EVs and charging points is what’s referred to as ‘thermal runaway’. This is where the lithium-ion battery starts to overheat and catch fire. It could even explode if it’s damaged or not looked after properly.
It may be overcharged or exposed to high temperatures, causing it to catch fire. In a lot of cases, the fire just gets worse and worse and quickly spirals out of control.
You also need to consider things like electrical overload, which can be caused by poorly installed chargers. If the general infrastructure isn’t properly maintained or is inadequate for the amount of electricity that you put it through, this can lead to short circuits and arcing fires, which can be very dangerous. Ensuring your electrical infrastructure is well-maintained is critical to avoiding such outcomes.
Incompatible or faulty equipment, such as non-compliant or damaged charging cables, will always increase the risk of fire.
Another common fire risk people don’t take into consideration, particularly in commercial premises or large residential premises such as blocks of flats, is the charger’s location (more on this below). It might block access for firefighters if they attend a fire or block egress on the premises, so this is another risk you need to consider.
Building usage and compartmentation
When a building is designed, it’s designed for a specific use at a specific time. The contractor who oversaw the design and construction of a building 30 years ago would not have considered, for one second, that electric vehicle chargers might eventually be installed there.
If you install these chargers or park electrical vehicles in an underground car park or close to a building and a fire breaks out, this could compromise the fire resistance of the walls, ceilings, and floors in the local vicinity.
We refer to this as the separation of the compartmentation in the building. If your building is inadequate for a potential fire, you must address this issue. You need to look at it in the context of your building design and potentially make retrospective changes.
Similarly, your building’s fire detection systems may not be adequate. If a specific area is considered low-risk but you’re suddenly introducing a brand new, quite serious risk into this area, you need to review that and put new fire safety measures in place. This is the case whenever you’re integrating new design features or components within your building.
How can landlords and managing agents address EV-related knowledge gaps?
There are courses that cover EV infrastructure and the risks associated with lithium-ion batteries.
Speaking to people in the fire safety sector, such as fire risk assessors, is another obvious but important tip. The people with direct experience of EV-related fire safety have so much useful knowledge that they can pass on.
If you’re still getting to grips with—and wary of—the fire safety risks posed by EVs, you may want to go as far as to ban all EVs on site, as extreme as that may sound. It’s always best to err on the side of caution if you’re unsure.
This point is self-explanatory, but anyone who’s responsible for a premises should be informed on the guidance around fire safety.
Unfortunately, at the time of publication, the government hasn’t released any fire safety guidance documents that landlords or managing agents can refer to.
However, there’s lots of useful material out there which can be consulted, including the FIA (Fire Industry Association) best practice guides and the NFCC (National Fire Chiefs Council) guidance documents.
It’s worth putting time aside to read around the subject, upskill yourself, and improve your knowledge.
If you’re going to go ahead with installing EV charging points, speak to the people who are accredited to do so and try to get as much information from them as you can. You should work with OZEV-approved installers or contractors certified under schemes like NICEIC or NAPIT.
You also need to make sure that when you liaise with your fire risk assessor, you can point out to them that you’ve had these chargers installed and where they are.
What does the legislation say in relation to EVs and charging points?
Whilst there’s no single piece of legislation that solely governs EV fire safety, there are several laws and standards that are relevant.
Part S of the Building Regulations has been brought in recently. This document mandates EV charge point installation in new developments and major renovations, particularly in relation to infrastructure readiness. We’re going to see this standard come into effect much more frequently as EVs become increasingly commonplace.
The other piece of legislation to refer to is the big one—The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. This is the legislation that all fire safety falls under. As part of this legislation, you need to have a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment, and this assessment has to consider the fire safety risks posed by the EVs and EV chargers you have on site.
The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 place specific duties on responsible persons for high-rise buildings, which may include the risks from EV infrastructure in basements or opposing parking areas.
Again, although this legislation doesn’t explicitly mention EV chargers, the implication is there. It is inferred that you should be aware of everything that’s going on in your building.
What factors does a fire risk assessment take into consideration?
A competent fire risk assessor will look at numerous areas.
1. Charger location
For example, are your EV charging points going in an enclosed basement or above ground, away from the building in an open-air parking area? The charger’s risk profile will vary hugely depending on its location, so you have to consider this before getting it installed.
2. Fire compartmentation
If EV charging points are installed close to a building and a fire takes place within close proximity of them or the EVs parked on site, is the surrounding infrastructure capable of containing that fire? You must know the answer to this question before deciding whether or not you can proceed with the installation of these charging points.
3. Emergency access
As you’ll know, some underground car parks go down three storeys. If a fire breaks out on the bottom floor, this isn’t ideal, to put it mildly.
You shouldn’t have EV charging points installed in the basement if a fire engine can’t get down there, so emergency access for firefighters and vehicles is very important.
4. Detection and suppression
You need to assess the adequacy of your alarm design and installation, and you may want to introduce fire suppression systems.
Sprinklers immediately spring to mind, but are they enough? That’s the big question.
There are lots of new technologies that are specifically designed to fight electrical fires. Some of them are quite intrusive, particularly the big installations, but you can see why, given the serious nature of the fires they’re designed to suppress.
5. Power supply and isolation
Is the electrical infrastructure rated appropriately, and is there an accessible emergency shut-off?
For instance, if you have a faulty charger and there’s a high risk of a fire breaking out, are you able to quickly switch that charger off either, before an emergency takes place or in the middle of an emergency?
6. Maintenance and signage
Charger installations often need to be carried out in conjunction with the building freeholder or the people responsible for the areas in which the chargers are installed. This process allows for proper maintenance procedures to be put in place and lessens the risk of the chargers deteriorating over time.
You also need to make sure signage is available so that people know what to do in the event of a fire.
There are other simple things you can do to maximise fire safety, like making sure cables aren’t left in water and checking charging cables to ensure they’re not visibly damaged or frayed.
7. Manufacturer compliance
Are the chargers that have been installed at your premises compliant with UK safety standards? Are they EC-approved, or were they manufactured in a country that likes to skirt the rules?
You must make sure your chargers fall into the former camp, not the latter.
What red flags can fire risk assessors pick up on?
Most of the time, we don’t encounter any problems, but there is the odd occasion where we’ll spot things that are concerning.
1. Improper installation location
As mentioned, if the EV chargers are too close to egress routes and combustible materials, this could present a major problem if a fire were to occur, so freeholders and managing agents need to take this into consideration.
2. A lack of fire strategy update
If you have a fire strategy document, this should be reviewed if you’re looking to install EV charging points at your premises, as they introduce another element of risk that probably wasn’t considered at the design stage.
If you don’t have a fire strategy in place, it’s probably a good idea to create one if you’re considering installing these charging points.
3. Inadequate compartmentation
It’s essential to think about how the building’s designed and find out what levels of compartmentation you need to maintain the highest levels of fire safety.
There needs to be fire-resistant separation between parking and occupied building spaces.
4. Poor electrical works
This point should be pretty clear to anyone who’s read the article so far, but chargers being installed without certification is a major red flag.
We encountered a recent scenario in which someone installed EV charging points by themselves without any kind of sign-off, which isn’t good practice.
5. Missing detection or suppression
We’ve come across instances where charging points have been installed, but not much thought has been given as to whether the detection and suppression systems are adequate in being able to support the wider infrastructure.
For example, there might be no smoke or heat detection in underground or indoor charging bays.
6. A lack of thought to policies and procedures
Crucial information tends to be overlooked once a building is equipped with EV charging points, such as:
- Who’s using them
- Who’s trained to handle them
- Who’s maintaining them
- Who’s responsible for them
- What to do in the event of an emergency, particularly as an EV-related fire is a very specific type of fire.
These oversights are why we decided to introduce our own separate risk assessment just for electric vehicle and charging point installation and maintenance.
This assessment covers not just the initial installation but also the aftercare element that needs to be taken into consideration.
Book your fire risk assessment with North West Fire Solutions
As this article demonstrates, we’ve been there, done it, and got the t-shirt when it comes to ensuring fire safety within commercial and residential buildings.
Not only do our fire risk assessments cover the pre-installation, installation, and post-installation stages of a project, but they’re also carried out by seasoned professionals. Our team has a combined industry experience of approximately 250 years at the time of writing.
To book your assessment or ask us any questions, feel free to reach out to us at 0151 665 0124 or email info@nwfiresolutions.co.uk.