If you've got a red ABE dry powder extinguisher mounted near your EV charger and you think you're covered, you're not. Using the wrong extinguisher on a lithium-ion battery fire can actually make things worse.

With over 1,000 lithium battery fires recorded across Australia in the past year alone, and NSW tracking incidents at a rate of nearly six per week throughout 2024, this isn't a theoretical risk anymore. It's something every EV owner, e-bike rider, and facility manager needs to understand right now.

The Problem With Traditional Extinguishers

Standard fire extinguishers work by removing one of the three elements a fire needs: heat, oxygen, or fuel. An ABE dry chemical powder extinguisher smothers a fire by cutting off its oxygen supply. A CO2 extinguisher displaces oxygen around the flame. These approaches work on conventional fires — petrol, electrical faults, cooking oils.

But lithium-ion battery fires don't follow conventional rules. When a lithium-ion cell enters thermal runaway, it generates its own oxygen internally through chemical decomposition. You simply cannot smother a fire that is producing its own oxidiser.

Even more concerning, dry powder can act as a thermal insulator when it coats a burning battery. Rather than cooling the fire, it traps heat inside the cells, potentially accelerating the spread of thermal runaway to neighbouring cells within the battery pack.

Under the NCC 2025 building code — published in February 2026 and available for adoption from May 2026 — commercial buildings with EV charging are now subject to enhanced fire safety requirements, including stronger sprinkler provisions for car parks. If your fire safety auditor spots a standard ABE extinguisher as the sole protection beside an EV charger, expect it to be flagged.

What Actually Works

Purpose-built lithium-ion fire extinguishers use a fundamentally different approach. Rather than trying to cut off oxygen, they focus on rapidly removing heat from the battery cells and interrupting the electrochemical reaction driving the fire.

Specialised agents like F-500 Encapsulator Technology use fine mist particles that penetrate the surface of the burning material, pulling heat out of the cells and stopping the chain reaction between electrode materials and other battery components. These extinguishers are water-based with a specialised additive, and they've been tested directly on lithium-ion battery fires — 4L units on 2.4kWh battery fires and 9L units on 4.8kWh battery fires.

Unlike conventional extinguishers, these formulations are fluorine-free, non-toxic, non-corrosive, and fully biodegradable. They're approved to Australian Standard AS/NZS 1841.2 and carry Class A fire ratings alongside their lithium-ion capability.

Where Should You Keep One?

For EV owners charging at home, a compact 1L lithium-ion extinguisher should sit within arm's reach of your charging point — whether that's in the garage, carport, or beside a wall-mounted charger. For commercial settings, fleet depots, and strata buildings with EV charging infrastructure, 4L and 9L units should be positioned at accessible points near every charging station.

Remember: lithium-ion fires can reignite hours or even days after they appear to be out. A purpose-built extinguisher buys you critical time to evacuate and call 000, but professional fire services must still attend to fully manage the incident.

The Insurance Angle

QBE Insurance paid out more than $34 million in claims related to lithium-ion battery fires in the twelve months leading to August 2025. Insurers are increasingly examining whether businesses and facilities have appropriate fire safety equipment for the specific risks present. Having the right extinguisher isn't just about safety — it's about demonstrating you've taken reasonable steps to manage a foreseeable risk.