Applicability

This NETB applies primarily to all NHS Trusts and NHS Foundations Trusts including community, ambulance and mental health organisations although the principles should be applied (proportionately) to primary care facilities.

Objective

To provide additional technical guidance and standards on the risks of electrical batteries for the NHS estate.

Status

These documents represent advice for consideration by all NHS bodies. They will be included in the revision of Health Technical Memorandum (HTM) 05 Firecode currently being developed.

Content

See Annex A: Action needed on fire safety requirements regarding electrical storage devices including lithium-ion batteries.

Background

Included in Annex A.

Monitoring of Implementation

Monitoring will be started with the publication of the revision of Health Technical Memorandum (HTM) 05 Firecode currently being developed.

Point of contact/feedback:

Point of contact for any queries: england.estatesandfacilities@nhs.net

Annex A: Action needed on fire safety requirements regarding electrical storage devices including lithium-ion batteries

Introduction

Fire authorities are reporting an exponential growth in the number of fires caused by re-chargeable electrical storage devices such as lithium-ion batteries. These batteries are used for devices such as electric scooters, electronic robots and e-bikes. Electric fires can develop rapidly and pose a considerable risk to anyone in the vicinity. Fire risks are especially relevant to NHS sites given their scale, locations and complexity of evacuating patients.

Further information is available: Battery breakdown: why are e-scooter and e-bike batteries exploding in people’s homes and what can be done about it?

The risk

Any device which has an internal battery supply has the potential to pose a hazard. The size of the batteries can vary considerably, from those in an e-cigarette to those in an electric car or bike. Generally, the larger the battery, the greater the risk.

Lithium-ion batteries have the highest energy density and utilise an organic solvent in the electrolyte. This means, if the battery overheats, it can cause a chemical reaction which in turn increases the risk of a serious fire or explosion.

Most fires occur whilst batteries are being charged. The risk of an incident occurring increases if batteries are damaged, are subject to excess heat or are charged when thermally insulated e.g. instance under a duvet or blanket. Fire risk is further exacerbated when a battery is over-charged, short circuited or submerged in water.

Electrical fires can be dangerous. Where an organisation’s fire strategy/protocol includes provision for individuals to use local extinguishing equipment, they must have received specialist training and ensure any attempt does not increase the risk to either themselves or those around them.

Actions for organisations

When completing a fire risk assessment, consider and address the safe use, storage and charging of electrical storage devices (see Annex B).

Develop a protocol for the use, charging and storage of electrical storage devices including lithium-ion batteries, in line with guidance in HTM 05-01, section 8 and appendix E. This should include all items within the Trust boundaries (inside and outside of buildings) and adjacent sites where a safe distance cannot be established. The protocol should be agreed and signed off by your organisations fire safety committee (secondary care) or appointed fire officer (primary care).

Protocols must reflect the legal requirements set out in the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, 2005, Article 10 to implement the principles of prevention, the first of which is “The principles are— (a) avoiding risks”. 

The fire safety protocol should consider the following and incorporate the where reasonably practicable:

If further support is needed, please contact england.estatesandfacilities@nhs.net marked for the attention of the Fire Safety Officer.

Application

This action applies to all NHS Trusts and NHS Foundations Trusts including community, ambulance and mental health organisations although the principles outlined should be applied (proportionately) to primary care facilities.

References

• Health Technical Memorandum 05-01
• Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
• FIA Guidance on Lithium Ion Batteries

Annex B: Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) considerations

Battery-powered equipment and recharging

The use of battery-powered equipment in a hospital should follow the trust’s electrical safety policy, including testing and the recharging of equipment. The trust’s policy should cover acceptable practices including location and chargers.

All batteries should be stored, charged, and used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. No flammable or combustible material, other than that associated with the chargers, should be stored within the vicinity of the charger in use. Batteries that are damaged should not be charged or used. Where batteries are left to charge in between use, it may be appropriate to use timers to control the charge to waking hours to prevent overheating and reduce the risk of fire.

Where domestic items are bought into healthcare buildings by patients or visitors, staff should be alert to these, and ensure their safe use. Where a portable charger is in use it should be sited so that it is on a level, secure surface with the charging leads long enough to avoid placing them under stress and not near any fire hazard.

Further advice can be found in:

• RISC Authority’s ‘Need to know guide RE2: Lithium-ion battery use and storage’, and
• RISC Authority’s ‘Risk control: Recommendations for the storage, handling, and use of batteries.

Electric scooters, mobility scooters, electronic robots and electric bicycles

Wherever possible, charging and storage areas should be located in a separate building reserved for this purpose, or in a specially designed charging area. For external storage areas, the potential for arson and the ability of the construction to contribute to the spread of fire, including to adjacent buildings, should be considered. Any area designated for charging should have the appropriate electrical equipment for this use. It should be kept clear of combustible material and not used for general storage.

Where charging and storage of vehicles and batteries is in an occupied hospital, the charging of vehicles and batteries should be done in an area separated from the remainder of the building by fire-resisting construction. These should not be in patient-access areas (unless specifically provided for use by patients or members of the public). Charging and storage of such devices should not take place in means of escape routes or circulation areas. These areas should be protected by the building’s fire detection and alarm system and have suitable fire extinguishers provided.

Charging areas should be ventilated directly to the outside. Electrical circuits should be easily and automatically isolated in the event of a fire. All products should be used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

Electric car charging

The charging for electric vehicles ranges from the use of cables designed for use from a domestic three pin socket to high powered dedicated chargers using either AC or DC current. The combination of the car batteries, which contain lithium-ion batteries, and a significant fire load in any car presents a potential risk. In the case of a thermal runaway and battery failure, structurally flammable gases can be released, resulting in immediate ignition of the emitted gases (especially for batteries with a high level of charge). Alternatively, the gases may spread out unignited, with the potential for a deflagration (very rapid combustion) or explosion if they encounter an external ignition source.

The siting of any car charging facility is an important factor in complex healthcare settings. If car charging is either underneath or adjacent to the healthcare building and a car fire could affect the operation of that building, for example via the construction of the external wall, a specific fire risk assessment should be carried out on the facility. Consideration should also be given to access, including the availability of water supplies for firefighting, for the Fire and Rescue Services (FRS).

Where charging points are to be provided in multi-storey car parks, serious consideration should be given to locating these in open areas with good access for firefighting. Where car parks are located beneath ground level, consideration should be given to providing sprinkler protection at the planning stage. Where a car fire may spread to an external wall of a hospital, this should be considered as part of the external wall Fire Risk Appraisal of External Wall construction (FRAEW).

Further information on the fire risk associated with electric car charging can be found in the Risk Insight, Strategy and Control (RISC) Authority document ‘RC59: Recommendations for fire safety when charging electric vehicles’.

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BEES)

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are used to store energy from intermittent energy sources, typically from solar panels or wind turbines. They may also be found as part of an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) system.

Advances in technology have produced various new battery chemistry compositions that include combustible materials. Both contain a flammable electrolyte with stored electrical energy that can lead to a fire. This is known as a thermal runaway. The battery system is not able to remove heat generated causing a fire. This can also lead to the production of combustible gases that can explode.

Assessing the risk

Electrical equipment associated with BESS installation should be installed in accordance with the appropriate electrical regulations and best practice as defined by HTM 06-01 – Electrical services supply and distribution.

As part of the general risk assessment process, any BESS installations must be appropriately installed and subject to ongoing maintenance. This should be verified with the appropriate electrical Authorising Engineer (AE).

A BESS can be installed within a healthcare building or as a separate installation on the healthcare site. These present differing risks of fire.

Within a building, the fire protection measures should be based on the principles outlined in HTM 05-02 – Fire Safety in the design of healthcare premises. The HTM provides information on the requirements for the location and fire separation of fire hazard departments from patient accessed areas. The level of protection will depend on the extent and nature of the electrical installation. The following areas should be considered:

• the level of fire separation from the remainder of the hospital
• the means of escape provision
• firefighting access and the provision of appropriate control and isolating facilities to aid firefighting
• suitable fire detection and warning systems
• appropriate staff training, particularly the initial response to an incident of fire alarm actuation
• the provision of a fire suppression system.
• The development of an appropriate emergency plan that considers the possibility of prolonged firefighting operations where lithium-ion and other battery chemistries are used that present the hazard of reignition due to thermal runaway.

Where BESS installations are standalone facilities, an assessment should be completed that considers the following factors:

• The battery chemistry: some batteries used in longer term storage do not contain lithium.
• The location of the facility: this should consider the location in relation to any adjacent healthcare facility/facilities and their vulnerability to the spread of fire and smoke, particularly the potential for smoke and toxic gases entering the ventilation systems. There should be a suitable separating distance from any combustible buildings, structures, or equipment.
• The combustibility of the buildings or containers used to store the batteries.
• The general layout for means of escape and firefighting access, including access to appropriate water supplies.

In principle, the fire safety measures provided for BESS installations should be based on those of plant rooms. However, they should take into account the distinct hazard of the batteries being used. The means of escape from plantrooms should be designed to take account of the fire hazard(s) presented by the batteries and other equipment or contents of the room.

In all BESS there should be monitoring of failure conditions that could lead to a thermal runaway. Consideration should be given to automatic shut-down and isolation of BESS units where any such conditions are detected. The early detection of off-gases electrolyte-vapour associated with battery thermal runaway events should be considered, as should the potential for the use of an automatic fire extinguishing system.

As with all electrical infrastructure, the fire safety approach will depend on the nature of the hazard presented by the electrical installation and the fire strategy. If there is no suitable fire strategy for a BESS installation, advice should be sought from the organisations Fire Safety Adviser. For significant installations additional advice should be sought from the organisations Authorising Engineer (AE) for fire and signed off by the organisation’s electrical safety group.

Further details can be found in the RISC Authority’s ‘Need to Know Guide RE1: Battery energy storage systems: commercial lithium-ion battery installations.

Date of issue: 29 August 2023
NHS Estates reference: NETB/2023/02
Publication reference: PRN00713