Luton airport fire

[ellal]

"significant structural collapse"

Wrong type of concrete, or design error?

One would have thought that a car fire (whatever the type of vehicle) in a car park was a distinct possibility and planned for!

 

[bernardgreen]

or can they only burst into flames due to short circuits

One cell can short circuit itself internal, overheat and damage other cells

Assume an 85kWh battery such as the Tesla S which has about 7000 cells

Fully charged the energy kWh per cell is 85 / 7000 = 0.012 kWh = 12 Wh

If the cell develops a short circuit when it has only quarter charge ( 3 Wh )

3 Watts for an hour
180 Watts for a minute
10.800 Watts for one second ( 10kW )

A fully charged cell could dump about 30 kW for one second, very rapid heating of the cell and those around it.

 

[motorbiking]

"significant structural collapse"

Wrong type of concrete, or design error?

One would have thought that a car fire (whatever the type of vehicle) in a car park was a distinct possibility and planned for!

When Heathrow had a fire caused by a Burger King exhaust chimney the fire got so hot that the aluminium started to burn.

 

[Brigadier]

"significant structural collapse"

Wrong type of concrete, or design error?

One would have thought that a car fire (whatever the type of vehicle) in a car park was a distinct possibility and planned for!

Designed to remain intact for long enough (plus a large "confidence limit", I shouldn't wonder) to permit safe and complete evacuation of all likely persons?

 

[ellal]

Apparently it was a Range Rover that caused the blaze...

If so, then that old saying comes true again...

What's the difference between hedgehogs and large unnecessary urban 4WD's?

Hedgehogs have pricks on the outside

 

[Bosswhite]

When he says it is thought it means his guys have identified the source of the fire, it’s how they work

Blup

Not necessarily , it means it is assumed how the fire started , EV`s have a bad reputation at the moment So the Officer in charge would be careful regarding his comments. A full investgation would last several days .

 

[Mottie]

When he says it is thought it means his guys have identified the source of the fire, it’s how they work

Blup

So "it is thought the fire started with a diesel car" is the same as "the fire started with a diesel car" in your book? Why the extra "it is thought" then?

 

[Mottie]

"significant structural collapse"

Wrong type of concrete, or design error?

One would have thought that a car fire (whatever the type of vehicle) in a car park was a distinct possibility and planned for!

Could be the design but not necessarily an error. When these car parks were built, they weren't aware of EV's and the weight of them. Multi-story car park designs now have to take into account the weight of a floor full of EV's.

 

[motorbiking]

I suspect they have cctv and every Tesla parked there was probably in sentry mode busy uploading alerts to its owners telling them “I’m on fire and it wasn’t my fault, this time”.

 

[ellal]

Could be the design but not necessarily an error. When these car parks were built, they weren't aware of EV's and the weight of them. Multi-story car park designs now have to take into account the weight of a floor full of EV's.

I beg to differ...

"A newly-built car park at Luton Airport which was destroyed overnight by fire did not have sprinklers installed, fire chiefs have revealed"

"The car park, which opened in 2019 as part of a £20million modernisation drive, did not have sprinklers, which one fire chief said 'may have made a positive impact on this incident' as he urged the airport to install them in existing and future car parks"

Only been operating for 4 years and how long have EV's been around?

And to be honest I'm shocked that there were no sprinklers, EV's or not!

 

[Mottie]

I beg to differ...

"The car park, which opened in 2019 as part of a £20million modernisation drive, did not have sprinklers, which one fire chief said 'may have made a positive impact on this incident' as he urged the airport to install them in existing and future car parks"

Only been operating for 4 years and how long have EV's been around?

And to be honest I'm shocked that there were no sprinklers, EV's or not!

Ah, well, I didn't know it was that new. Yes, sprinklers ought to be mandatory for all multi-story car parks

 

[motorbiking]

I don't recall ever noticing a sprinkler system in a multi-story car park.

According to google its not a requirement for building control.

 

[ellal]

Ah, well, I didn't know it was that new. Yes, sprinklers ought to be mandatory for all multi-story car parks

Sadly sprinklers aren't mandatory in most places...

The tories dropped the requirements proposal even including being in schools!

Because they tend to be expensive...

Profit before people!

 

[Londoner2]

Leccy cars getting bad press, every other day there is a news story about a car on fire, now this.

Insurance will go through the rooof.

 

[blup]

So "it is thought the fire started with a diesel car" is the same as "the fire started with a diesel car" in your book? Why the extra "it is thought" then?

Because its not yet official, in the sense of a final definitive report.

Blup