COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – With more and more battery operations going on throughout the world, Texas A&M Engineering Extension Services (TEEX) is furthering its research into safe responses to battery and stored energy-related incidents.
Texas A&M hosted the second Electric Vehicle and Stored Energy Summit this week. More than 260 people from around the US gathered to talk and learn about how first responders and the general public should handle things like electric vehicle battery fires and other stored energy-related emergencies.
Lithium batteries, like the ones found in electric vehicles, are one of many different kinds of batteries being looked into. Retired Captain of the Seattle, Washington Fire Department, Chris Greene, said TEEX is working on understanding the spectrum of toxins in different batteries so first responders are better prepared.
“There’s toxins associated with lithium-ion batteries but again it’s part of a spectrum of toxins that we need to better understand,” Greene explained. “One of the nice things about working with TEEX on these projects is that everybody is welcome. [TEEX is] getting involved with labs, they’re taking a look at this stuff, and making some of our responses more evidence based.”
When a battery overheats and explodes officials call that “thermal runaway.” Research has shown how toxic thermal runaway can be. With more battery-operated machines and technology in an ever-advancing world, thermal runaway is becoming more prevalent as batteries get old or damaged by environmental stressors that can make them more susceptible to fires.
“The components of the gases that are made up and the different materials the batteries are made up; lithium, ion- there’s a lot of very hazardous materials that burn off when these go into thermal runway,” shared TEEX Agency Director David Coatney.
Because of the hazard these incidents pose, TEEX has studied the best way for first responders and anyone who is closely exposed to the smoke and combustible products to decontaminate their clothes or gear, and what health risks responding to these calls can cause.
“There’s a big concern about chemicals and contamination in our gear,” Greene said. “That’s something that TEEX, has really led to charge in; is testing gear and how do traditional decontamination methods like water-based decontamination methods, how does that work with EV fires and lithium ion battery fires?”
One important thing to remember is that lithium fires do not respond to water, dry chemicals, and firefighting foam tactics the same way regular fires do.
“What the public needs to be aware of, because in a lot of cases you can’t put out lithium-ion battery fires, and there’s a pretty significant expectation that when the fire department shows up, they’re going to put out a fire,” added Coatney.
Copyright 2025 KBTX. All rights reserved.