Toxic Gas, Delayed Ignition, and Unprepared Shops: An EV Fire Safety Primer for Collision Repairers

From thermal imaging cameras to fire blankets, EV Safety founder Bruno Lucarelli explains what genuine EV fire readiness looks like for shops.

While National Fire Protection Association data shows EV fires occur less frequently than those involving internal combustion engine vehicles, they are significantly harder to contain and extinguish when they do occur. 

The Collision Vision recently welcomed Bruno Lucarelli of EV Safety to discuss what collision repair operators need to know about electric vehicle fire risks. Lucarelli, a former director at eBay Motors with a background in automotive retail, founded EV Safety after observing a widespread lack of protocols around EV fire incidents across the industry.

During the episode, Lucarelli explained the risk, identified where shops are most exposed, and detailed how to take action.

Collision repair shops have long handled fire risks, but electric vehicles introduce a fundamentally different set of hazards. When a lithium-ion battery is damaged in a collision, it can enter a state called thermal runaway. It’s a chain reaction that can produce fires that burn hotter and longer than traditional vehicle fires, reignite hours after the initial incident, or ignite days or weeks later without warning.

Lucarelli emphasized that the greatest danger in a thermal runaway event is not the fire itself. Over 90% of the injuries in these events stem from toxic gas exposure, not flames, he said. A single EV at a higher state of charge, he noted, “can release up to 50,000 liters of poison gas,“ including hydrogen fluoride. 

Key Takeaway: The primary danger in an EV fire is toxic gas, not flames. Shops should treat any thermal runaway event first as a toxic exposure risk and evacuate all personnel and customers immediately, before assessing property damage.

Because many EV manufacturers have integrated battery packs directly into the vehicle frame, frame damage from a collision should be treated as battery damage. Lucarelli said that if the seam of a battery casing is split, it’s going to start leaking hydrogen among other things.

That makes intake one of the most consequential moments in the repair process. “Every car in a collision center is what we call a hot potato,“ Lucarelli said. “And a hot potato is a car that has a questionable origin as far as why is it there.“

He added that if an EV has frame damage, “that car doesn’t belong within 100 feet of a structure. Yet, there’s a dozen of them lined up mirror to mirror outside a collision center.“

Key Takeaway: At intake, any EV with frame damage should be treated as having battery damage. Do not park it within 100 feet of a structure until the battery has been assessed.

One of the most important points Lucarelli made is that thermal runaway does not always occur immediately. He described a recent incident in which a Tesla at a U.S. scrapyard sat for three weeks before exploding. “Thermal runaway can last as long as a month,“ he said. “Even longer.“

That means a vehicle that appears undamaged on arrival may already be in the early stages of a dangerous chemical process. Lucarelli recommended that every shop use a thermal imaging camera to scan incoming EVs before they enter the building. “If you point the gun at that car and it has a red dot, you immediately have to tow that car away from everything.“

Key Takeaway: Every shop handling EVs should have a thermal imaging camera at the door and establish a policy that no EV enters the building without being scanned first. A heat signature on the camera requires immediate removal of the vehicle from the building and, where possible, off the property entirely.

Beyond collision damage, everyday shop operations can put EV batteries at risk. Lucarelli cited an alert from AXA UK Insurance noting that paint curing processes had exposed EV batteries to temperatures above 250 degrees Fahrenheit, well above what most OEMs recommend, leading to several fires in Europe.

Lucarelli said temperatures above 220 degrees Fahrenheit can trigger thermal runaway, with battery chemistry beginning to destabilize above 260 degrees. He recommended shops target a ceiling of 200 degrees Fahrenheit to account for ambient heat already present in many facilities. 

“Make sure your welder has all those certifications. Watch that battery while you’re welding,“ he said.

Key Takeaway: Review paint curing processes and set a shop ceiling of 200 degrees Fahrenheit for any EV in the facility. Welders working near EV batteries must hold the appropriate certifications for working around EV battery systems.

Lucarelli noted that battery defects are not always the result of collision damage. Issues like dendrite growth and anode overhang, which are internal manufacturing or design problems, can cause thermal runaway regardless of whether a vehicle has been in an accident. 

He said there are “upwards of 400,000 vehicles driving around this country“ that are under recall for battery-related concerns, with advisories circulating to avoid charging above 70% and to park away from structures.

“Collision centers need to make sure that they’re running the NHTSA database on every EV that comes in just to make sure that on top of the damage that’s already done to it, that there’s no further recall on it,“ he said.

Key Takeaway: Add an NHTSA recall check to the intake process for every incoming EV. A vehicle already under a battery-related recall presents compounded risk on top of any collision damage it has sustained.

Lucarelli estimated that “99.9% of scrapyards, collision centers, and repair shops and dealerships have absolutely no preparation for this and no protocol and probably unaware.“ He said this is not willful negligence but largely a knowledge gap, driven by the tendency to treat EVs the same as internal combustion vehicles.

Several well-intentioned safety measures can make the situation worse, according to Lucarelli. Using highway concrete barriers to cordon off EVs, for example, can trap hydrogen gas and create an explosion risk. If a fire does occur inside those barriers, the contaminated concrete may become a regulated hazardous waste disposal problem. 

“Depending on the state you live in, you can’t keep that on your property. And you can’t just put that in a dumpster.“

Key Takeaway: EV fire preparedness requires specific protocols that do not carry over from ICE vehicle handling. Shops should audit current intake, storage, and emergency procedures specifically for EVs and identify where gaps exist before an incident occurs.

For shops looking to build genuine readiness, Lucarelli outlined several practical steps.

Fire blankets should be stocked in sufficient quantity and in accessible locations, and staff must be trained on when and how to use them. Blankets allow firefighters to contain a burning vehicle, prevent fire from spreading to adjacent cars, and drag the vehicle off the property before the situation escalates. Without them, firefighters may need to pump an average of 25,000 gallons of water through a burning battery, releasing hydrofluoric acid and other contaminants directly onto the shop’s property.

“Don’t ever put that battery on a shop bench or anywhere else because those wheels enable the firemen to evacuate the battery out of the building,“ Lucarelli said.

Shops should also limit the state of charge on incoming EVs. Lucarelli recommended keeping vehicles below 30% charge while on site. He said that Tesla certified repair centers face an added complication: Tesla penalizes shops that allow vehicles to drop below 20% charge, which requires careful management of the acceptable range, according to Lucarelli.

Every person on site, from technicians to front-desk staff to customers in the waiting room, needs a baseline understanding of thermal runaway and a clear evacuation protocol, Lucarelli said. And finally, when calling the fire department, shops must specify that the vehicle is an EV. 

“You need to tell them that it’s an electric vehicle fire because they’re going to come with a different set of equipment.“

Key Takeaway: A prepared shop has fire blankets stocked and accessible, keeps removed batteries on wheels near an exit, limits EV state of charge to below 30%, trains every person on site in basic thermal runaway awareness and evacuation protocol, and knows to tell the fire department the vehicle is an EV when calling for help.

There are many steps shops can take to protect themselves and others. Getting trained in safety procedures, having safety equipment in the shop and knowing how to use it, and being aware of the EV risks are the basic but important steps to follow.  

EV Safety offers a non-technical employee certification that Lucarelli said takes about 20 minutes and can be completed on a phone. More information is available at evsafetyproducts.com or by calling 844-EV-FIRES. 

Previously published on Autobody News.