Fire

Fire
Approach and extinguish a fire using proper vehicle fire fighting practices as recommended by NFPA, IFSTA, or the National Fire Academy (USA).

- Extinguishing Agent
Water has been proven to be a suitable extinguishing agent.

- Initial Fire Attack
Perform a fast, aggressive fire attack.
Divert the runoff from entering watershed areas.

Attack teams may not be able to identify a Prius until the fire has been knocked down and overhaul operations have commenced.

- Fire in the HV Battery Pack
Should a fire occur in the NiMH HV battery pack, the incident commander will have to decide whether to pursue an offensive or defensive attack.

WARNING:
- Potassium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide are key ingredients in the NiMH battery module electrolyte.
- The modules are contained within a metal case and access is limited to a small opening on the top.
- The cover should Never be breached or removed under any circumstances, including fire. Doing so may result in severe electrical burns, shock or electrocution.

When allowed to burn themselves out, the Prius NiMH battery modules burn rapidly and can quickly be reduced to ashes except for the metal alloy cell plates.

Offensive Fire Attack
Flooding the HV battery pack, located in the trunk, with copious amounts of water at a safe distance will effectively control the HV battery pack fire by cooling the adjacent NiMH battery modules to a point below their ignition temperature. The remaining modules on fire, if not extinguished by the water, will burn themselves out.

Defensive Fire Attack
If the decision has been made to fight the fire using a defensive attack, the fire attack crew should pull back a safe distance and allow the NiMH battery modules to burn themselves out. During this defensive operation, fire crews may utilize a water stream or fog pattern to protect exposures or to control the path of smoke.