At 4:39 on February 23, 2024, a fire broke out in Building 6 of Mingshangxiyuan, Yuhuatai District, Nanjing. As of 24:00 on the 23rd, the accident killed a total of 15 people, 44 people were injured, of which 1 person is in critical condition, 1 person is in serious condition and 42 people are in minor condition. Preliminary analysis suggested that the fire was caused by electric bicycles parked on the elevated floor of the building.
The dead is gone, the fire is cruel. The loss of living lives should be a wake-up call for all of us. It is possible to minimize the occurrence of dangerous situations as long as we strengthen the awareness of safety in our daily life and be prepared for potential danger and try to avoid potential safety hazards.
Please check out the following safety guidelines!
1. Why Can the Electric Bicycles Catch Fire?
1）How does the battery of electric bicycle explode?
Power batteries suitable for electric bicycles can be divided into lithium batteries and lead-acid batteries. Lithium batteries have become the preferred power supply for electric bicycles because of their high power density, light weight and environmental friendliness. According to the statistics of the China Electronics Industry Standardization Technology Association (CESA), lithium batteries accounted for 97.1% of China's new electrochemical energy storage installed capacity in 2020, which has certain advantages in the market.
The main reasons causing the explosion of lithium batteries are overcharge and short circuit.
Overcharge, mainly occurs in the charging process of lithium batteries. Since the battery has resistance, it will store a lot of heat during the charging process. When the overcharging time is too long and the voltage continues to be too high, the dendrite short circuit inside the lithium-ion battery is prone to occur, resulting in the rising temperature and pressure of the lithium battery, which will cause the explosion and fire.
Short circuit, it mainly occurs in the use of lithium batteries. If the battery temperature is too high due to the external factors, it is easy to cause damage to the battery diaphragm, resulting in short circuit and excessive internal heat accumulation, triggering a chain chemical reaction, and finally causing battery explosion and combustion.
In addition, mixing charging devices with different brands of electric bicycles can also cause damage to the battery.
2）Why can't electric bicycles be charged near dormitories or residential areas?
Firstly, electric bicycles take a long time to charge, which makes the battery a potential source of ignition.
Secondly, many parts of the electric bicycle are made of plastic, which will burn rapidly and raise the temperature very high and produce lots of smoke once they catch fire. The smoke contains various poisonous gases, which seriously threatens the safety of students and residents.
How scary is an electric bicycle fire? It kills people in 90 seconds. Once an electric bicycle catches fire, the temperature can reach 200 ° C in 90 seconds. A burning electric bicycle produces enough poisonous gas to suffocate hundreds of people.
2. The Consequences of Incorrect Charging of Electric Bicycles
Incorrect charging of electric bicycles, illegal modification and replacement of lithium batteries can easily cause accidents.
The electric bicycle caused an instant explosion while being charged indoor
The electric bicycle caught fire while being charged in the shop
The electric bicycle caught fire while being charged on the second-floor terrace of the shop
The electric bicycle caught fire while being charged in the kitchen
The electric bicycle caught fire while being charged by unauthorized wiring in the corridor
The electric bicycle exploded and caught fire while being charged in the corridor of a building
3. The Safety Guidelines for Electric Bicycle Riding on Campus
1）The selection and inspection of electric bicycles
Choose an eligible bicycle: When purchasing an electric bicycle, please ensure that the bicycle meets national standards and has a certificate of conformity and a formal invoice. Do not modify important components such as batteries and chargers without authorization. Substandard electric bicycles, batteries, wires, chargers can increase fire risk.
Inspection and maintenance: Regularly check the brake system, tire wear, headlight brightness, battery and other components; do not use damaged or aging batteries. If the electric bicycle has any problem, repair it timely!
2）Riding regulations and safety guidelines
Riding regulations: When you ride your electric bicycle on campus, please wear a helmet, obey traffic rules, and respect the rights of pedestrians. Make sure you do not ride with one hand, do not ride on the wrong side of road, do not speed, and always yield to pedestrians.
Careful riding: Be careful while turning, changing lane, overtaking and riding at intersections . Be sure to observe the surrounding traffic conditions in advance and slow down to ensure safety. Avoid distracted cycling.Do not use your phone or listen to music while riding.
Pay attention to weather: Do not ride in bad weather conditions because the roads are slippery when it’s raining and snowing. Choose walking as an alternative in bad weather.
Speed limit: For campus safety, the speed of electric bicycles should be controlled within a reasonable range and comply with the campus speed limit regulations. Please don’t speed, or accidents might happen.
3）Parking and Charging
It is strictly prohibited to park or charge electric bicycles incorrectly: It is strictly prohibited to park or charge electric bicycles inside dormitory buildings, teaching buildings, offices, evacuation corridors, stairwells, and safety exits.
It is strictly prohibited to charge electric bicycles by unauthorized wiring: It is strictly prohibited to pull wires from dormitories, teaching buildings, offices to charge bicycles. It is easy to cause fire if the wires are worn out or aging.
It is strictly prohibited to modify the battery, install audio or lighting arbitrarily, which are easy to cause fire because of line overload.
It is strictly prohibited to charge near flammable products: When charging electric bicycles, it is necessary to stay away from flammable and explosive items to prevent greater explosion accidents.
4. The Safety Guide for Electric Bicycle Riding
It’s our responsibility to build a strong security line in order to defense for our campus. I hope everyone of us can keep the above safety tips in mind and make sure the safety use of electric bicycles.
Only by riding electric bicycles in a civilized way, can we create a safe and wonderful campus together!
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