SEOUL, June 28 (AJU PRESS) - The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Friday that it conducted a fire drill involving 10 fire trucks and seven electric buses at a public bus depot in southern Seoul the previous day.
Organized by the Seoul Metropolitan Fire & Disaster Headquarters in collaboration with other administrative bodies including Songpa District Fire Station, Seoul Facilities Corporation, and Seoul Public Garage, the drill was promoted by a recent deadly fire at a lithium battery factory in Hwaseong, south of Seoul that claimed 23 lives early this week.
During the drill, firefighters and rescuers received training on effective methods to extinguish fires involving electric buses.
As of January this year, of the 7,383 buses registered, 1,266 were electric and hydrogen buses. The number of eco-friendly buses has been rising since the city's 2021 plan to increase the number of electric buses to 3,500 by 2025 to reduce carbon emissions and fossil fuel consumption.
The drill focused on helping firefighters to learn about handling fires involving electric buses and how to extinguish them. They practiced targeting water sprays at the buses' roof-mounted battery packs and simulated early-stage responses to fires using special-purpose vehicles such as an unmanned firefighting vehicle.
While electric vehicles, including buses, cost less to operate and emit zero pollution, they are susceptible to massive fires when their batteries are damaged.
Unlike typical fires that can be doused with water or special types of gas, battery-induced fires often cannot be extinguished until the primary battery material is completely burnt out.
Thursday's drill was part of the city government's proactive approach to addressing the evolving safety challenges in an era of eco-friendly cars.
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