Songpa-gu Distributes Fire Extinguishers for Metal Fires at Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Seoul's First Autonomous District Introduces Class D Fire Extinguishers (Metal Fires)... 70 Units Installed at 39 Public Parking Lots and Public Institution Charging Stations... Expansion Planned for Next Year

Songpa-gu (District Mayor Seo Gang-seok) announced that in August, it became the first district in Seoul to distribute 70 metal fire extinguishers for metal fires to 39 electric vehicle charging stations within the area.

Currently, about 4,000 electric vehicles are registered in Songpa-gu, and the nationwide registered number of electric vehicles has reached 390,000 as of last year, showing a daily increase in the number of electric vehicles.

Therefore, legal safety standards related to electric vehicle fires are necessary; however, there is currently no globally standardized method for extinguishing electric vehicle fires, and clear regulations for safety facility installation are insufficient.

Also, if a fire occurs at an electric vehicle charging facility and spreads to the lithium battery, it can lead to a Class D fire (fire caused by combustible metal substances). Metal fires require a long time to extinguish due to high heat and cannot be easily put out with water, so special precautions are needed for fires at charging stations.

Currently, the district has 3,630 electric vehicle charging stations. Accordingly, to block the risk of large-scale fires and enable appropriate response during a fire, the district strengthened initial fire response by installing metal fire extinguishers dedicated to metal fires at charging stations for the first time among Seoul’s autonomous districts.

The target locations are 39 electric vehicle charging stations in public parking lots and public institutions within the area, totaling 70 units. An additional supplementary budget was prepared in June, and installation was promptly completed in August. Storage boxes were also produced and installed to safely store the special fire extinguishers.

Going forward, the district plans to gradually continue installing metal fire extinguishers at charging facilities where they are primarily needed, such as charging stations in multi-use facilities, starting next year.

Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, stated, “In line with the trend of promoting electric vehicles to replace internal combustion engine vehicles, it is necessary to establish a safety system,” and added, “We will actively consider establishing safety management measures at the district level and build related infrastructure so that residents can use electric vehicle charging facilities with peace of mind.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.