Luton Airport car park fire

[MikeInWimbledon]

I’d certainly believe there is some culpability in NOT having any form of extinguisher system built into a relatively new multi-storey car-park.
Initial fire prevention cost-saving to Luton Airport at users risk, the fact LAA is ultimately owned by the council may have influenced that oversight being allowed?

Someone's got culpability, but the good news is that we'll all pay for the demolition and rebuild of the car park - through Lloyds of London and car insurance.

Doesn't matter whether we were there or not, OUR insurers will pick up the bill.

Culpability? Well, there's the architect, the owner, the fire service - who sign off on the build and the operation, the operator etc etc.

This isn't rocket science. There are boring busy multi-storey car parks in every city in more than a hundred countries - the risks and mitigations are obvious.

That the Fire Service released the press release during CancerKate makes me think that there's some round shoulder stuff going on by the Fire Service.

 

[SmartAmg]

I haven't read the report, but one of the things a friend of mine (a retired London Fire Service Watch Commander) said at the time was that fires in multi-story carparks are rare but often catastrophic when they do happen because fuel tanks rupture due to the heat, with the liquid then entering the drainage system and thus spreading the fire further at random. He also mentioned that examples such as Luton with unclad steel structures are prone to collapse without warning due to heat causing the steels to lose structural integrity, so no-one is going to rush to go inside the structure to fight the fire.

There you go, from the horse's mouth, so to speak. Somebody that actually knows what the hell he's talking about.I'd sooner listen to someone like that, then some let's blame EVs, keyboard warrior.

 

[ToeKnee]

Sort of on similar lines. Work colleague of mine years ago, argued that 2 stroke petrol, wasn't flammable So to prove his point, put a little bit on his work pants, and put a flame to it, needless to say it burst into flames. It was quickly extinguished and he wasn't hurt. From that moment on until he finished, he was known as, Two Stroke.

Better name would be "liar liar pants on fire"

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

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Nothing to see here . OK , so Geoff seems to like a conspiracy from time to time and I am surprised the hats he always wears are not of tin foil .

But even the most pro EV supporter must sometimes question why burning/EV fail stories seem to either disappear , run late/short or not at all.

To say 'there are much bigger news stories out there these days' is disingenuous as that argument could be used regarding Princess Kate/Palestine/Ukraine/China as some people simply don't give a hoot about those stories either.

The front pages of all the newspapers, and the content of every newscast last week disprove your argument. The media kicked everything else aside in the UK to focus on KateCancer.

Yes, we know that diesel and petrol car fires are so routine that they don't even reach the provincial press, but rest assured, if your vehicle is at risk, as any Range Rover is, you'll pay for it through your insurance premium. That's what actuaries do.

It's no good saying "but ships never crash into Bridges." They do, which is why the insurance is that expensive, even if the local government picks up part of the cost.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Just four years ago: Stavanger - another European Airport, and a fire started by another diesel vehicle.

https://risefr.com/media/publikasjoner/upload/2020/rise-report-2020-91-evaluation-of-fire-in-stavanger-airport-cark-park-7-january-2

Four years ago: Do you remember seeing the story?

 

[SmartAmg]

Just four years ago: another European Airport, and a fire started by another diesel vehicle.

https://risefr.com/media/publikasjoner/upload/2020/rise-report-2020-91-evaluation-of-fire-in-stavanger-airport-cark-park-7-january-2

Damn Diesels, they are a Danger to society. Oh, wait that's only EVs.

 

[SmartAmg]

Better name would be "liar liar pants on fire"

Good one, but doesn't quite roll of the tongue as easy.

 

[E55BOF]

"Damn Diesels, they are a Danger to society. Oh, wait that's only EVs. "

No, it's both...

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Damn Diesels, they are a Danger to society. Oh, wait that's only EVs.

I hosted a port tasting by Grahams.

The Speaker said "It's a mistake to think that you get a hangover from Port. What happens is that people have a gin to start, a few glasses of wine, a heavy meal and then a small Port. And then blame the Port. It's really about the whole evening."

We disproved that theory when 60 of us woke with a Zinger of a hangover. Great night. Grahams is still my favourite.

 

[markjay]

The Speaker said "It's a mishtake to think that you get a hangover from Port. What happens is that people have a dgin to start, - *hic* - a few glasshes of wine, a heavy meal and then a shmall Port. And then blame the Port - *hic* - It's really about the whole evening."

FTFY

 

[Darrell]

From that moment on until he finished, he was known as, Two Stroke.

After a lads holiday in Benitses in the 80’s a pal of mine was know as Two Stroke.

 

[markjay]

From what I gathered, petrol fires are the easiest to extinguish, Diesel fuel fires (and other types of oil or fat) are a bitch to deal with, and Li-ion battery fires are nigh-on impossible to put out.

 

[markjay]

Another example of the devastation that an oil/fat fire (in this case, margarine) can cause:

Mont Blanc Tunnel fire - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

"The fire burned for fifty-three hours and was estimated to have reached a temperature of 1,000 °C (1,830 °F), mainly because of the margarine load in the trailer, equivalent to a 23,000-litre (5,100 imp gal; 6,100 US gal) oil tanker. The fire spread to other cargo vehicles nearby that also carried combustible loads."

39 Dead.

 

[ToeKnee]

After a lads holiday in Benitses in the 80’s a pal of mine was know as Two Stroke.

Was his name Justin??

 

[HappytalkAgain]

….Doesn't really matter what car started the fire, it's how it spreads…

Well that made me laugh .

it really does matter what starts a fire. Otherwise fire investigators would not exist.

 

[clk320x]

So no EV,s caught fire then? Why then did the intense heat that can only come from lithium batteries on fire cause floors to collapse. Doesn't really matter what car started the fire, it's how it spreads and cannot be put out easily

Well, if there wasn’t an ICE car in there the EVs would have been fine… maybe we should ban ICE vehicles from multi-stories?

 

[rf065]

Well that made me laugh .

it really does matter what starts a fire. Otherwise fire investigators would not exist.

"While not started by an electric vehicle, the fire at Luton Airport last year did end up involving EV, he says, and laid the bare the potential consequences of fires spreading from one vehicle to another."

The crews bracing themselves for a rise in electric car fires

Dealing with an electric car fire takes up to 10 times longer than tackling a conventional fire.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[clk320x]

"While not started by an electric vehicle, the fire at Luton Airport last year did end up involving EV, he says, and laid the bare the potential consequences of fires spreading from one vehicle to another."

The crews bracing themselves for a rise in electric car fires

Dealing with an electric car fire takes up to 10 times longer than tackling a conventional fire.

www.bbc.co.uk

Better ban ICE cars from confined spaces then, they set EVs on fire which leads to bad things. As well as filling up the car park with noxious carcinogenic fumes (even when not on fire!)

 

[rf065]

Better ban ICE cars from confined spaces then, they set EVs on fire which leads to bad things. As well as filling up the car park with noxious carcinogenic fumes (even when not on fire!)

So you just ignored the remedial advice from the fire experts? Very constructive.

 

[clk320x]

So you just ignored the remedial advice from the fire experts? Very constructive.

It’s just the irony of somehow still bringing the problem back to EVs when the entire fire started from an ICE car.

So yes, EVs burn for longer when they catch fire, which barely ever happens and is far less frequent than ICE cars (even when the data is modified to account for the lower proportion of vehicles being EV) - when an ICE car catches fire and sets other cars on fire an EV will burn for longer.