Electric vehicle fire: How Paarl Hospital dodged a disaster

Fire and Civil Engineering experts have commended the Drakenstein Municipality's Fire and Rescue Services and Paarl Hospital staff for their preparedness after an electric vehicle fire, which resulted in no injuries.

Councillor Stephen Korabie, Executive Mayor of Drakenstein Municipality and Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness confirmed the cause behind the blaze was an electrical car, which was parked adjacent to the building.

"The cause of the fire is an electrical car which is standing on the premises,” said the Mayor.

Drakenstein Municipality’s Fire and Rescue Services said it responded to a fire at the Paarl Hospital, at 11:17am on Tuesday.

By 12:00pm, firefighters had successfully contained the blaze to the Day Hospital section of the provincial hospital.

The municipality added that all occupants of the ground, first, and second floors of the hospital were safely evacuated.

The Outpatient Department sustained extensive damage while the maternity patients  were relocated to other facilities.

Professor Richard Walls, Civil Engineering and Fire Engineering at Stellenbosch University, who was part of the fire preparedness, said the fire caused by an electric car was not uncommon - and that Lithium-ion batteries, which power the cars, can experience a violent exothermic process known as thermal runaway. 

“The fire at Paarl Provincial Hospital is currently believed to have been started from an electric vehicle parked next to the building, although details need to be verified,” he told the Cape Argus.

“I have personally walked the halls of Paarl Hospital with the team involved in disaster and fire preparedness. The team can be commended on the high level of training, facilities, preparedness and general infrastructure. It is very likely such preparedness contributed to protecting the patients.

“The efforts of the fire department and other teams involved are gratefully acknowledged.

“Electric vehicles have been known to be involved in fires around the world. Although ignition is uncommon, it can occur when such vehicles are parked or, more frequently, during charging. Lithium-ion batteries, which power the cars, can experience a violent exothermic process known as thermal runaway. 

“This occurs with cascading spread between cells within battery modules. The first cell may ignite due to aspects such as overheating (thermal), overcharging (electrical), physical damage (mechanical) or manufacturing defects.

“Thermal runaway can produce toxic fumes, jet flames and even explosions in confined spaces. Electric vehicle fires are very difficult to extinguish due to their intensity, toxicity and challenges accessing the batteries.”

Professor Walls said ongoing work at SU has been involved in testing thermal runaway to understand when, and how, it occurs.

 Mayor Korabie who was at the scene said thousands had to be evacuated: “There were people busy in the operating room, that had to be evacuated.

“There were mothers busy delivering their babies, that had to be evacuated. All those patients were a first priority and were taken to other hospitals such as Tygerberg Hospital."

He said assessments were being done to the building by the fire and rescue teams, and engineers to assess which section of the hospital could be used.

The Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness explained that early indications are that a vehicle parked adjacent to the building caught alight, resulting in the fire spreading to the hospital structure. 

“This will be confirmed once investigations are concluded, ”it said.

The department said smoke from the incident required the full evacuation of the facility as a precautionary measure. 

Western Cape MEC of Health and Wellness, Mireille Wenger, said: “Our immediate priority was the safety of patients, staff and visitors, and I want to commend the hospital teams and emergency services for acting swiftly and professionally under pressure. Thanks to their coordinated response, patients were safely relocated and no injuries were reported."

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