Due to the increasing number of battery electric vehicles (BEV) on the roads and the number of BEV accidents with the occurrence of a fire, full-scale fire tests of BEVs were carried out. For initiation, the BEVs were mechanically damaged, forming a gap with a size of 15 cm × 15 cm. The external heat source was a 300 kW propane burner with a maximum power of 54.0 kW and a length of 54 cm. The flame of the propane–butane fuel mixed in air at a temperature of 1970 °C was inserted directly into the battery pack. The increase in the temperature was monitored as a function of time through thermocouples at selected locations of the BEV until the point of initiation. Thermocouples were placed 10, 30, and 50 cm from the place of BEV surface. Accordingly, to obtain the temperature–time curves from the experiment measurement, critical temperatures were subsequently evaluated. The fire tests on BEVs can be described according to the individual phases of the fire. The external heat source started the initiation process at the 25 min time mark. Consequently, the phase of a developed fire with a dynamic course started. A sharp rise in temperature occurred. Within two minutes, the temperature rose to 1056.9 °C. After the initiation source was removed, there was decline in temperature and re-ignition to the stage of a fully developed fire. Thermocouples recorded temperatures in the range of 900 °C. The resulting dynamic process of a BEV fire with a sharp increase in temperature is a problem for the implementation of firefighting works and the liquidation of traffic accidents. Furthermore, foam extinguishing was part of the experiments. In both cases after the foam application, the temperature on the thermocouple T1 (distance was 10 cm from the surface of the BEV) dropped from 486.1 °C to 76 °C after 10 s of application.

Firefighting units in the Slovak Republic are well prepared for extinguishing fires of vehicles with internal combustion engines. However, the expansion of electromobility is also coming to Slovakia. It is essential to pay attention to this topic from the point of view of repression. This article deals with car fire blankets. The main objective is to verify and compare the effectiveness of extinguishing internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV) fires and high-voltage traction battery (HTB) fires using car fire blankets. The effectiveness of a car fire blanket was determined based on the analysis of temperature drops during large-scale fire tests of ICEVs and HTBs. The temperature was recorded by four thermocouples. Two thermocouples were placed at 0.7 m from the ICEV and HTB; one thermocouple was placed in the interior of the ICEV and inside the HTB; one thermocouple was placed on the roof of the ICEV and the surface of the HTB. Subsequently, the results were compared based on temperature–time curves obtained from experimental measurements. Applying the car fire blanket to the ICEV fire caused a drop in temperature on all thermocouples. The most significant temperature drop was recorded in the interior of the vehicle. Specifically, the temperature dropped from 724 °C to 140 °C. However, the application of the car fire blanket had a different effect on the HTB fire. There was a minimal temperature change in the thermocouple on the right side at a 0.7 distance. The other thermocouples identified a slight increase in temperature.