Objective of Task

Task 49 on “EV Fire Safety” has been initiated due to the fact that, although we see a growing interest in electric mobility from policy makers, companies and end users, there is still some lack of trust in the safety aspects of electric vehicles. Task 49 want to collect and share objective information on different EV fire safety related aspects to increase the overall trust in electric vehicles.

Task 49 will collect statistics on EV fire incidents since risk assessments based on limited statistics could lead to a too negative perception of EV fire safety risks hampering the roll-out out EV’s and charging infrastructure in e.g. underground parking facilities. Task 49 will stimulate knowledge exchange on EV fire safety aspects by sharing experiences between country experts to increase insights in EV fire safety risks and to share best practices in preventing or mitigating EV fire incidents (from both the technological and regulatory perspective).

Task 49 target groups are building and parking owners, OEMs (vehicles and charging infrastructure), fire rescue workers, transport and tow companies, insurance companies, policy makers, regulations, and up to the EV drivers and general public.

Working Method

Task 49 will organise 5 online workshops on “EV Fire Safety” related topics to share and discuss collected information and best practices. Before defining the specific workshop topics, Task 49 will set-up a database of experts/stakeholders from the participating countries and will start with mapping the existing initiatives/working groups/available information on “EV Fire Safety” aspects in each participating country. The exact workshop topics will be decided upon in consultation with all participating countries and will focus on topics of highest interest and/or on which there is the biggest benefit of sharing experiences between countries. Potential workshop topics are: “EV fire incident statistics”, impact of electric vehicles on “Parking fire safety regulations”, on “Insurances”, “Fire rescue workers procedures”, “Removal and after-treatment of damaged electric vehicles”, etc.

Overview of Tasks:

• Task 1: Collection of information: desktop research, interviews, conferences, …
• Task 2: Stakeholders database: definition of task working group and stakeholders
• Task 3: Collaboration related IEA HEV TCP tasks: check for links with ongoing tasks from their specific expertise e.g. on vehicle side (LEV, trucks, buses, marine, etc.), on batteries or charging infrastructure (extreme fast charging, battery swapping, etc.)
• Task 4: Workshops: organize 5 online workshops on selected topics, prioritization in consultation with all participating countries
• Task 5: Dissemination: IEA HEV TCP annual reports, newsletters, conferences, etc.
• Task 6: Task Management

Task Workshops

Workshop – impact of electric vehicles on parking regulations

The first Task49 workshop (17/07/2024) focused on the impact of electric vehicles (EVs) on parking regulations. Public parking areas will play a significant role in deploying the charging infrastructure necessary for the increasing number of EVs.

While home and on-street charging will continue, a large amount of infrastructure will also be needed in public parking spaces, particularly in underground facilities.
Stakeholders have raised concerns about the potential fire safety risks posed by EVs and are questioning what additional safety measures may be required. The workshop explored these issues and their influence on future parking regulations.

Event recording 

Workshop – EV fire statistics

The second Task49 workshop (24/03/2025) focused on EV Fire Statistics. It provided an update on the latest available data and allowed participants to discuss the processes for collecting EV fire statistics across different countries.

The workshop explored current practices, including the level of detail collected, vehicle categories covered, and anticipated improvements.

Discussions addressed challenges in gathering accurate and detailed data, particularly focusing on whether data collection includes other vehicle types, such as personal mobility devices and heavy-duty electric vehicles, beyond electric passenger cars.

Event recording

Workshop – EV fire emergency response procedures guidelines

The third Task49 workshop (02/10/2025) focused on emergency response procedures and guidelines in case of a fire incident involving an electric vehicle.

It is crucial that first and second responders get all information needed for a safe intervention (fire services, law enforcement, medical emergency services, towing companies, vehicle storage facilities, …).

What are the standard operating procedures (SOPs)? Where do responders find quickly the rescue sheets and emergency response guides of the vehicle involved? What’s the importance of ISO 17840 “Road Vehicles – Information for First and Second Responders”? Which personal protective equipment (PPE) is needed? Which procedures/diagnostic tools are needed during and after the incident to handle safety risks like thermal runaway, battery fire reignition and stranded energy? Which fire suppression systems are most effective?

Event recording