Key Details
Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser’s Fire Safety in Charge Parks for Medium and Heavy-Duty Electric Trucks and Buses in India is a technical framework. It addresses facilities where heavy vehicles may use chargers rated from 150 kW to 1 MW.
Site layout: The report recommends at least 5 metres of lateral separation between electric trucks, with fire-resistant barriers and protected equipment areas where needed.
Early detection: Smoke, heat and gas monitoring should connect to alarms and procedures for rapid electrical isolation.
Battery incidents: Both vehicle batteries and stationary battery storage need plans for cooling, containment and monitoring because a fire can reignite after visible flames are controlled.
Emergency readiness: Operators need accessible water supplies, clear routes for responders, trained staff, drills and coordination with local fire services.
Recovery: Post-fire checks should cover damaged equipment, the risk of re-ignition and potentially contaminated firefighting runoff before operations resume.
A Charging Park Must Be Treated as One Connected Site
The report’s central finding is that fire safety cannot be assigned to the charger alone. Vehicles, high-voltage connections, transformers, cables, battery storage and staff actions can affect one another during an incident. A fault in one area may threaten nearby vehicles or equipment if the park’s layout does not limit fire spread.
That is why the report puts physical separation and fire-resistant construction ahead of relying solely on alarms or extinguishers. Its recommended five-metre gap between trucks is one design measure within a wider site-specific assessment, rather than a substitute.
Battery Fires Change the Response Plan
A large lithium-ion battery can release substantial heat and flammable gases during thermal runaway — a process in which overheating spreads between cells. The report emphasises cooling, isolation and preventing the fire from reaching adjacent vehicles or equipment. Stationary battery storage, where present, requires its own ventilation, monitoring and emergency arrangements.
Detection is useful only if people and systems can respond quickly. The framework links alarms to power shutdown, evacuation and access for firefighters, followed by checks for renewed heating before a vehicle or charging bay is returned to service.
Staff and Fire Services Need a Shared Procedure
The report extends beyond equipment design to training, drills and defined responsibilities for charging-park operators and emergency responders. It also covers post-incident assessment and recovery, recognising that an incident may continue to pose risks after the immediate fire is controlled.
Policy Relevance
As electric buses and trucks expand, charge parks will become part of transport and power infrastructure. The framework gives developers, utilities and local fire authorities a common reference for considering safety during site planning and operation, rather than adding protections only after construction.
The next institutional question is how its recommendations will be reflected in approvals, inspections and operating practice alongside applicable electrical, building and fire-safety requirements.
Follow the Full Report Here: Fire Safety in Charge Parks for Medium and Heavy-Duty Electric Trucks and Buses in India