Fires in electric motorcycles have become a major problem in Holguín, to a point it ranks among the Cuban provinces largely hit by such events.
The use gel or lithium batteries have caused fires that have led to serious damages. Specialists of Cuba’s Fire Fight Department said that the inappropriate exploitation of electric motorcycles have caused such annoying situation.
Major Jercy González Longo and Lieutenant Carlos Rodríguez Orosa explained in an article published by the web site of the Ministry of Interior (Minint for its Spanish acronym) that the analysis made by fire fighters experts and experts on malfunctions, explosions and fires, and the information given by the people affected, the fires have originated due to the ill functioning of the lithium-ion batteries, and the use on improper chargers.
They also say that those undesired events happen due to the wrong washing of such means of transportation, using water jets at high pressures, in addition to not leaving the battery cool down to room temperature before starting to charge the devise or to drive then again.
Other causes of fires include the removal of the original electrical safety devices; the use of improper electrical adaptations and lithium batteries manufactured by people who do not have certification or authorization for this purpose; the use of defective outlets; exposure to high temperatures and charging directly exposed to solar radiation.
The note points out that, in spite of the measures adopted, so far this year the CBC has assisted in more than 300 fires originated in vehicles with lithium-ion batteries, a figure that increases if we include those that have been controlled by the population without notifying the fire department.
Most of the fires in electric motorcycles constitute the beginnings of fires without major transcendence, on the other hand, others develop in environments with high presence of fuel so they gain greater proportions, resulting in serious human and material losses, such as those that occur in the interior of homes.
Since 2019, about three thousand fires associated with this means of transport have been registered, in which about 200 people have been affected, including deaths and injuries, and causing millions of dollars in material losses.
More than 67 percent of those incidents occur between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., so many of the victims have been caught during sleeping hours, hence the cases with fatal outcome are those occurring in homes.
According to statistics provided by the note, the most affected provinces are Havana, Matanzas, Camagüey, Santiago de Cuba, Ciego de Avila and Holguín.
The events are taking place in garages, homes and residential buildings, as well as in workplaces.
Others have originated on public roads, affecting motorcycles but also vehicles and nearby homes.
In accordance with Law 1268 on fire protection and Law 116, Labor Code, the Minint, through the CBC, has taken several measures, especially with the Ministry of Transportation, to counteract these dangers.
Among the main actions is the dissemination of risks and protection measures during the use of these vehicles; and coordination with the commercialization companies so that fire safety measures are included in the operating manual.
In addition, the preparation of CBC specialists has been strengthened to raise the standards in state control inspections, as well as for emergency response, which included the training and certification abroad of two fire safety engineers in this area, and the subsequent replication in the country of the knowledge acquired.
The experience of other countries and the specificities of the Cuban environment are also investigated with the aim of projecting technical regulations for the use and operation of electric and hybrid vehicles.
Taking into account the mentioned causes, the note lists a group of preventive measures to adopt during the use of electric and hybrid vehicles:
-Let the battery cool down to room temperature, before starting its charging or embarking on a journey after having charged it.
-Maintain the electrical safety devices that were originally installed in the equipment.
-Not to carry out adaptations to the motorcycle that alter the parameters established by the manufacturer.
-Do not use homemade or handmade batteries.
-Not to put to load the motorcycle without the due attention avoiding that this one exceeds the time established in the instructions of use.
-Not to subject it to loads in interior of premises and rooms without supervision.
-Not to acquire lithium batteries outside the authorized sale places for it.
-To use for the load electrical facilities in suitable physical state, as well as the devices of connection certified and not handmade, not to use for this electrical extensions.
-At home, do not leave the means of transport close to combustible loads (wood and fabric furniture, curtains, etc.) or obstructing the main door; in parking lots or garages, do not park in continuous groups but in small groups of three motorcycles at a distance of 1.5 meters between groups.
With information from ACN / Translated by Radio Angulo
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