Earticle

Secondary cell batteries are considered environmentally friendly and energy efficient, be widely used in private, home and industrial fields. However, when lithium is exposed to air, it is dangerous to cause an explosion due to the rapid oxidation of hydrogen. There is still a lack of risk awareness and scientific investigation into Secondary cell batteries. The purpose of this study is to identify and inform fire hazard points through fire cases and fire investigations. Research data for preventing recurrence of fire accidents on secondary cell batteries and use it for fire detection technology.

As high-density energy storage is possible due to the development of lithium-ion batteries, it is possible to develop electric vehicles that use electric motors as a power source in internal combustion engine cars, adding environmental pollution problems such as burden and global warming, and the production of electric vehicles is rapidly increasing, and many countries are implementing policies to completely change from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles within a few years. With increasing the number of registered electric vehichles, the number of fires in electric vehicles is also increasing proportionally. It is not just a problem of increasing the number of fires, but when a fire occurs, a thermal runaway of lithium-ion batteries occurs, and it is very difficult to extinguish the fire of the lithium-ion battery that is burning because the off-gas eruption and the battery is sealed inside the pack. In order to solve this problem, we will observe the cause of ignition of lithium-ion batteries, and study how to extinguish the fire accordingly and how to find the cell that became the ignition source among several cells in the event of a fire.

Electric vehicle(EV) fires exhibit characteristics distinct from those of internal combustion engine vehicle(ICEV) fires. In particular, lithium-ion batteries, which are a key component of EVs, have high energy density and can cause rapid temperature rise and fire spread due to a phenomenon known as thermal runaway. This explosive combustion can severely damage the entire vehicle, making it difficult to determine the exact cause of the fire. As a result, there is a growing need for research on EV fire cause analysis and forensic investigation methods. In this study, a fire reproduction experiment was conducted using an actual EV to analyze the characteristics and progression of EV fires and to propose an effective EV fire investigation method. To achieve this, thermal runaway was induced by applying forced ignition conditions to a lithium-ion battery, and the temperatures of the battery pack and the vehicle’s interior and exterior were measured, compared, and analyzed. Additionally, after combustion, the vehicle interior was examined, and the findings were compared with the temperature measurements to identify the primary causes of the EV fire and determine the ignition point based on physical burn patterns. The findings of this study are expected to enhance the accuracy of EV fire investigations conducted by fire investigators and contribute to the development of EV fire prevention and response strategies.

The purpose of this study was to find a mental health promotion plan for firefighters through trauma-based care (TIC) of firefighters. Fire officials experience repetitive trauma due to the nature of their due to the nature of their work and have a higher prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder than the general public. These traumas cause various mental health problems for firefighters and negatively affect their daily lives. This study presented six principles for identifying the trauma and neurophysiological characteristics and support resources of firefighters, and suggested ways to apply TIC guidelines suitable for firefighting organizations. Through these TICs, firefighters recognized the impact of trauma experiences on their lives and responded appropriately to prevent overseas trauma and promote healing, and to this end, the firefighting organization emphasized the need to create a safe and comfortable environment for firefighters. Finally, it was suggested that TICs be systematically introduced at the fire organization level to promote the mental and physical health of firefighters and introduced them at the fire organization level.

This study seeks to expand the area of fire safety services to the public by establishing a firefighting colleague psychological support system for firefighters and a disaster psychological support system for the public. we examined the National Fire Agency's mental health support policy and the status of PTSD(posttraumatic stress disorder) management among domestic and foreign firefighters. In addition, as a result of analyzing the effectiveness of the firefighting colleague counseling and the operation cases of the Central Firefighting Psychological Support Group, it was confirmed that it has a positive effect on the mental health management of firefighters. In order for the Central Fire Protection Psychological Support Group to develop into a focal point for not only the mental health of firefighters but also the mental health of disaster victims, it is necessary to establish a legal basis and to reorganize the systematic organization and budget. Additionally, programs to foster internal experts are desperately needed. The results of this study are intended to contribute to boosting firefighting morale and expanding the scope of firefighting activities by discovering disaster psychological support policies for firefighters.

Because Li-ion battery and Li-Polymer battery have high-energy storage density, they are used for various electronic devices such as electronic cigarette, electronic bicycle, drone, second battery, even golf cart and electronic car. Recently, however, battery explosion is sometimes occurring on electronic devices using Li-ion battery and is becoming serious as bodily harm is breaking out due to explosion. For this, this paper described the Li-ion Battery’s operating principles and Fire was caused through previous research and re-testing based on exposure to foreign substances such as water from the battery in contrast. According to the these experiments, we conducted a study to develope scanning techniques of fire and safety measures. (Most previous studies have been about the risk of fire in the battery due to physical shock, overcharging, and high temperature exposure.)

In this study, NCM cathode materials were mainly analyzed to confirm the fire risk of LIB. NCM cathode materials have poor surface stability and poor structural stability at high temperatures, so gas is generated and the cell swells, causing swelling. To confirm this phenomenon, a pouch full cell was manufactured and electrochemical output characteristics were tested, and it was confirmed that the cell surface temperature risen to 60°C. As a result of ICP-MS analysis, it was confirmed that the higher the ratio of Ni in the NCM cathode and the higher the temperature environment, the higher the solubility of Ni. In fact, the pouch full cell was stored in a high-temperature oven for a total of 4 weeks, and the swelling behavior was measured at intervals of 1 week, and the amount of gas generation was quantitatively measured through the internal pressure cell. As a result, the higher the Ni ratio, the more gas generated. In order to determine the correlation between these gas emissions and fire, harsh conditions were applied via a DC power supply. As a result, it was confirmed that the higher the ratio of Ni and the greater the number of charging and discharging, the more the cell swelled, the faster it exploded, and the higher the temperature at the time of explosion.

The production of batteries that are easier to carry, install, and easier to use than heavy products is increasing day by day, and many products made with batteries are currently being produced and sold in vehicle electric products. In the past, vehicles were often used without installing additional accessories when purchasing vehicles, but recently, additional accessories that use black box auxiliary batteries are often installed in vehicles. In particular, when a vehicle black box is installed and used as a constant power source among accessory devices, the voltage of the vehicle battery drops after parking for a long time, so the vehicle often does not start. For this reason, the number of vehicle drivers who install auxiliary batteries for vehicles is increasing to prevent a voltage drop of batteries installed in vehicles. However, it was confirmed through a press release from related agencies that some of the commercially available black box auxiliary batteries were arbitrarily changed and sold by major components such as cells inside the batteries unlike the time of certification. As the use of auxiliary batteries for vehicles increases, a number of related fires often occur, causing the vehicle to burn down or repair costs excessively. The research team of Changwon Fire Department analyzed the recent fire cases and visited related companies and related institutions and conducted a re-experiment in an environment similar to the fire conditions to investigate the risk of lithium-ion batteries charging/discharging at low temperatures.

Fire investigation is an important activity that investigates the cause and process of fire occurrence and develops prevention and response measures. However, it takes effort and time to conduct actual fire investigation and reproduction experiments and verification is difficult. Therefore, in this study, we intend to test the reliability of fire investigation results using a fire simulation program that simulates an actual fire. As a result of comparative analysis of domestic actual fire investigation results and fire simulation simulation results, the suitability of the fire investigation to the objective investigation results was evaluated and after a verification process, the reliability of the fire investigation could be confirmed in advance and a conclusion could be drawn, so the accuracy of the fire investigation played a major role in raising the Through this study, The accuracy and efficiency of fire investigations will be improved and provide useful guidelines and system improvement data to experts and government agencies related to fire prevention and policy.

This study focuses on enhancing the diagnostic capabilities of junior fire investigators through the optimization of AI microscope measurement methods for identifying wire arc melting marks. A total of 33 wire samples collected from actual fire scenes were analyzed using three distinct imaging scenarios (S1, S2, and S3) to evaluate the most reliable method. The S1 scenario, which involved capturing the wire’s side with the widest distribution of melting marks, achieved the highest concordance rate of 90.9% with metallographic analysis. In contrast, S2 and S3 scenarios recorded lower concordance rates of 51.5% and 39.4%, respectively. Statistical analysis using ANOVA revealed significant differences among the methods (F = 9.80, p < 0.00014), with post-hoc tests confirming the superior accuracy of the S1 approach. These findings suggest that AI microscopes can effectively support junior fire investigators by improving diagnostic accuracy and reducing reliance on subjective judgment.