There are myriad misconceptions about EVs and fire risks. Here is what the evidence tells us so far and how to minimise risk.
If you’re on any form of social media, you could be forgiven for thinking electric vehicles burst into a fireball the second you plug them into charge.
This misconception is now so widespread that it’s impacting consumer confidence. A recent NRMA poll found 44 per cent of respondents were not considering buying an electric vehicle because of fire safety concerns.
It’s also impacting the charging infrastructure sector. Almost on a weekly basis I hear from a charging provider or body corporates asking for help because an EV charging installation has stalled. These emails often start with “someone on the owners committee heard charging causes EVs to catch fire and it could burn down the building”.
Sensible discussion has been lost in the online clickbait, so here are some data-driven facts.
What does our data say?
EV FireSafe receives funding from the Australian Department of Defence to research EV battery fires and emergency response. Most of our team are operational firefighters, and we also have a qualified risk assessor and fire investigator.
For every electric car, bus, truck, boat, train or aircraft battery fire that occurs globally, we look for the answers to around 28 questions, including what caused the fire to occur, how was it managed, did a secondary ignition occur, date, location and model.
We’re not able to capture every incident globally – there are only a small number of countries that track their national data – but we have a subset of the total number from which we can draw early learnings.
At the time of writing, we’ve been able to study and verify battery fires – known as thermal runaway – in 612 plugin electric cars, 13 electric trucks and 33 electric buses, worldwide.
Leading causes of these fires are road traffic collision, submersion of a battery pack in salt water for an extended period (think major flooding events), a fault in battery cells during the manufacturing of the pack, or the EV was impacted by an unrelated fire that spread to the vehicle such as a garage fire.
How many occur compared to petrol or diesel cars?
There is very little reliable data on this, but it’s the question everyone wants an answer to.
The only data we trust is from the Norwegian Fire Department, which recorded 33 EVs on fire, compared to 704 internal combustion engines (ICE) fires in 2022. The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency recorded 81 EVs on fire, compared to 656 in the years 2018-2022.
We must bear in mind that this does not take into account the age or mileage of the vehicles, or their maintenance records.
And, for emergency responders, the comparison is largely irrelevant; EVs pose new challenges that require new tactics and techniques for safe and effective emergency incident management.
What role does EV charging play in battery fires?
It’s a really important point that a normally operating, undamaged electric vehicle that is connected to an electrically compliant charging unit that has been installed to electrical standards by a qualified person, CANNOT cause a battery fire.
There are multiple safety checks that take place when you plug an EV into charging, kind of like a “handshake: between the vehicle’s systems and the charging unit; this is the ‘clunk, clunk’ noise you hear when you first connect the two.
If faults are detected, the charge is rejected, meaning no flow of power from the unit to the car.
But around 15 per cent of incidents on our database occur while the EV is connected to charging. Why? Because the EV has suffered damage prior to being connected.
A really good example of this is following natural disasters. In 2022, Hurricane Ian caused widespread saltwater flooding in Florida, USA, for several weeks. Up to 3000 EVs were submerged in a storm surge that also swept many vehicles away, causing additional impact damage.
Many Floridians left their EVs in the garage when they were evacuated, often still connected to their home charger. The power grid went down, storm surge came through, and battery packs were submerged for an extended period in salty water, which is known to corrode battery cells and also form a conductive path when the battery pack dries out again.
When the power grid went back up, some EVs received a ‘kick’ of power from charger that led to battery fire.
Here in Australia where our team is based, we’re also seeing a number of charging connected fires due to electrical wiring being overloaded. In one case, a driver used a travel adaptor to connect their Japanese import car; in another, a driver tried to connect his EV directly to power lines.
How can we reduce risk around EV charging sites?
To help everyone design, install and maintain safer EV charging sites, EV FireSafe has developed the Electric Vehicle Safer Charging System, which supports risk reduction through:
Free guidance:
Follow the Australian Building Code Board Advisory Notice ‘Electric Vehicles in Buildings’ which is a 15 point plan for safety
Download, print and install our EV Charging Site Safety Sign
Online course with all data and resources:
For a complete look at our data and a full suite of helpful resources, such as a safety checklist, pre-incident plan, maintenance templates and an emergency response checklist, complete our Fire Safety for EV Charging Sites online course, or join one of our 2025 webinars
Consulting:
For complex or specialist sites, our team can work with you to build a complete risk assessment following a site visit
It’s important to note you should always follow any advice provided by your fire engineer and local fire authority, and use the resources outlined here as best practice guidance for an enhanced level of safety and awareness.
Emma Sutcliffe is the director of EV FireSafe, an Australian company led by firefighters and funded by the Department of Defence to research electric vehicle battery fires and emergency response. See their research at evfiresafe.com.