Korea Fire Insurance Association and National Fire Agency Conduct Portable Power Bank Fire Reenactment Experiment

The Korea Fire Insurance Association announced on September 5 that, in collaboration with the National Fire Agency, it held a fire investigation seminar and conducted a portable power bank fire reenactment experiment at the association's Disaster Prevention Testing & Research Institute.

This seminar was organized to share scientific approaches to fire investigation and the latest research findings. Key topics included: ▲ reenactment experiments of thermal runaway in portable power banks under various conditions ▲ empirical tests of fireproof bags for power bank safety management ▲ measures to improve the reliability of evidence in liquid fuel fires ▲ risks of thermal runaway and damage mitigation strategies for electric vehicles and energy storage systems (ESS) ▲ and the relationship between fire incidents and insurance (loss adjustment).

The battery is on fire.

Two main experiments related to portable power banks were conducted. First, the risk of fire occurrence due to external impact was tested at different charge levels (0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, 100%). The safety of overcharged power banks was also verified by storing them in various ways (plastic bags, heat-resistant pouches, metal boxes).

As a result of these experiments, the need to establish domestic certification standards for plastic bags, heat-resistant pouches, and metal boxes sold on the market for portable power bank storage was highlighted. It was also emphasized that, once certification standards are established, it is advisable to use products manufactured according to these procedures. Additionally, it was recommended that, when boarding an aircraft, portable power banks should be kept at a lower charge level (20% or less) rather than fully charged.

Many firefighters involved in fire investigations from across the country attended the seminar, sharing the latest information on scientific fire investigation and determining the causes of fires.

Jang Younghwan, Director of the Disaster Prevention Testing & Research Institute at the Korea Fire Insurance Association, stated, "Going forward, I hope the National Fire Agency and the association will continue to share information and build a cooperative system to advance technologies for identifying various causes of fires. The association will remain committed to research in order to enhance the expertise of fire investigations and scientifically determine the causes of fires."

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