An experimental case study of escooter fire in a four-story building

Driven by the necessity to understand the fire and smoke dispersion characteristics of electric bicycle (escooter) fires and their effects on residents’ safety in rural houses, this study was conducted to perform full-scale fire experiments in a village house in Hainan, People’s Republic of China. The tested building is a typical multi-story building representative of rural houses in southern China. It is found that an escooter fire grows rapidly once its lithium-ion battery is overcharged to ignite. Inside the stairwell where the escooters are parked, a significant increase in temperature over 60°C across all floors is observed and the maximum temperature reaches up to 800°C on the first floor. Furthermore, the propagation of smoke is fast, reaching the upper floors within 5 minutes and filling the entire building within 7 minutes. Due to stack effect, carbon monoxide concentration is the highest on the fourth floor, notably higher than the other floors. Closing the doors of rooms where occupants are typically present is found to effectively block heat and smoke transfer. Thus, in case an escooter’s lithium-ion battery undergoes explosion combustion, it is better that residents stay in rooms by closing or even sealing the doors, waiting for help during most of the fire period. However, in case the lithium-ion battery has not been burning, there still are chances for evacuation or putting out the flame.