Renault says that it has made its ‘Firemann Access’ system “freely available” to the automotive industry to improve road safety. Designed for electric vehicles, the system helps first responders fight battery fires.
‘Fireman Acess’ was developed in-house by Renault for electric vehicles, giving fire and rescue services quick access to the battery and enabling them to put out battery fires more quickly. According to Renault, this will now take “just a few minutes, compared with several hours without this equipment.”
The carmaker explains that in this system, an adhesive disc is placed over an opening in the battery casing. It seals it for normal use, but the “powerful jet from the fire hose” can move the disk, allowing water to reach the battery cells more quickly. According to Renault, it is “the only fast and effective way of stopping thermal runaway.”
Renault had filed a total of seven patents in connection with the ‘Fireman Access’ system, and the latter has been on all battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles sold by Renault brands. And the patents are now freely available through an open collaborative platform on the Renault website.
As mentioned above, it significantly shortens the time needed to put out a battery fire. Renault also adds that it saves water. Apparently, putting out a battery fire without the ‘Fireman Access’ system requires ten times as much water as putting out the fire in a battery with the system.
As simple as the system is technically with the opening and adhesive disc, there are still some challenges for the emergency services in the field. For example, firefighters first have to know that the electric car has such a system, and then they have to find the opening or reach it in a vehicle damaged in an accident. A standardised position of the opening would help – in the case of the Renault, it is under the rear seat bench.
Getting water into the battery as quickly as possible for cooling purposes is also used in other concepts: Austrian firefighting equipment supplier Rosenbauer presented an extinguisher for burning traction batteries in 2021. Instead of relying on a manufacturer-installed opening in the battery housing, an extinguishing spike is driven into the battery with a force of several tonnes. The water is introduced into the battery via the perforated extinguishing lance. Special equipment is undoubtedly the more universal solution, but it is also more expensive.
“Innovating to improve road safety is part of who we are at Renault. We’re particularly proud of the partnership developed with the fire services in recent years,” says Luca de Meo, CEO of the Renault Group. “Fireman Access is a practical demonstration of what can be achieved by combining our expertise as a manufacturer with the skills of the men and women who keep us safe every day. Today, I’m delighted to be making this innovation freely available, because when it comes to a subject like safety, we need to break down all the barriers.”
The French also emphasise that this is part of their commitment to working with UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, Jean Todt, to help raise awareness about road safety and “deploying technological innovations to save lives on the roads.” That includes, for example, accident prevention systems, driving assist systems, and passive and post-crash safety equipment. The company is also taking part in the 4th Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, currently underway in Marrakesh.
