Know Fire Risks and Lessons Learned Battery Compartment There are numerous considerations to be made in the vehicle ’ s battery compartment . Firstly , there should be no exposed threads from bolts causing a fire risk . Opening and closing the battery compartment should not cause undue stress or rubbing of battery cables . Connections at the battery should minimize incorrect connections during maintenance , and battery hold-down clamps should be made of non-conductive material or isolated from the chassis . High Current Electrical Cables ( battery )
• Insulation Flammability Characteristics
• Resistance to chemicals and abrasion
• Flexing Battery cables are constructed of a single-conductor bare copper cable . In cold weather , these cables can become very stiff and difficult to work with . This is due to their already-limited flexibility . Though they provide resistance against heat / fire and abrasion , they are usually less flexible than other types of cable . This is because the battery cables have thicker copper strands which are not as compact as other cables . Welding wire is typically used because of its flexibility and versatility , thanks to its construction of finer strands of copper and ethylene-propylene diene monomer ( EPDM ) or neoprene rubber jacket which also acts as insulation . In fact , welding wire is generally more flexible than regular electrical wires or power cables . These cables meet UL-1581 flame-resistant standards . EPDM is a flammable material with a very low limiting oxygen index ( LOI ) value . EPDM polymer doesn ' t contain halogens within the polymer chain and is not inherently fire resistant . Thus EPDM , being purely hydrocarbon , can easily catch fire . It burns easily , causing rapid fire spread and the emission of high amounts of dense smoke . This presents a fire risk of which operators must remain cognizant . New product considerations must be made for high-current electrical cables on electric vehicles , including insulation flammability characteristics and resistance to chemicals and abrasion . DAFO is a global company specializing in fire risk mitigation and advanced fire detection and suppression technologies for over the road and off-road vehicles . Our patented intelligent detection wire is is guaranteed against false alarms from shorts , abrasion , and other damage . The detector
will only alarm when it ’ s set alarm temperature is reached . The location of the alarm point is logged to facilitate in location of origin of the heat source .
Our air bag inflation-based extinguisher eliminates the common issues of leakage and scheduled maintenance and re-certification .
The system provides full backup power capabilities without the need to replace batteries . All faults , alarms , inputs , and outputs are logged and can be accessed even with loss of power . J 1939 CANBUS communication allows for easy integration into vehicle systems and allows for easy location and monitoring or our canbus sensors . DAFO systems are chosen as standard factory fit from numerous OEMs .
Joseph Peoples has been in the fire protection industry for 40 years and has worked both military and commercial projects . The past 30 years has been dedicated to the transit industry . After 20 + years with one of the leading suppliers of fire protection systems for buses he focused his efforts working as a consultant on the research and preventative side . He is an acknowledged expert in bud fire investigations and risk management . Visit
https :// dafoamericas . com / for more information .
22 | BUSRIDE . COM | OCTOBER 2021