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:

The NiMH battery electrolyte is a caustic alkaline (pH 13.5) that is damaging to human tissues. To avoid injury by coming in contact with the electrolyte, wear proper personal protective equipment.

The battery modules are contained within a metal case and accessibility is limited.

To avoid serious injury or death from severe burns or electric shock, never breach or remove the high voltage battery pack cover under any circumstance including fire.

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 cargo area, 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.

Fire involving the Optional Solar Panel
The solar panel is constructed of materials commonly used in household electronic devices. Should a fire occur involving the solar roof panel, extinguish it using water.