2024 Electric Vehicle Fire Safety: LH’s Groundbreaking Tests in Underground Parking
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On the 12th, Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) announced it had conducted a live demonstration of firefighting systems designed to respond to electric-vehicle fires in underground parking garages.
On the 11th, LH carried out an electric-vehicle fire demonstration at the Construction Fire & Energy Research Institute in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, to test the reliability of fire-safety systems for underground parking facilities.
Earlier, LH ran related demonstration tests to develop responses to EV fires in underground parking — a public safety issue that surfaced in 2024. Based on those results, LH identified types of suppression systems and strengthened inspection measures to improve the operation and efficiency of EV charging zones. Those findings were also used by the National Fire Agency when it announced its “Comprehensive Measures to Improve EV Fire Safety in Underground Parking” in February 2025.
The latest test was organized to verify the actual fire-control performance of an improved sprinkler system under NFPC 103, the revised fire-safety performance standard for sprinkler equipment that was updated in December 2025. The enhanced pre-action sprinkler system is designed so that activation of a sprinkler head opens the water-flow detection device regardless of whether smoke or heat detectors have triggered, a configuration that helps reduce risks such as pipe freezing.
The experiment ran three scenarios that assumed degraded fire-response conditions, including detector failures and valve malfunctions. Using the data collected, LH will evaluate how key suppression systems — such as sprinklers and hose-reel hydrants — perform against electric-vehicle fires and use the results to inform the development of reasonable, safety-focused standards for firefighting equipment.
Oh Joo-heon, head of LH’s Public Housing Division, said LH will cooperate with relevant agencies to ensure objective data from the demonstration tests lead to rational and safe firefighting standards. He added that LH will continue efforts to create housing environments where residents can feel secure.
By Yoo-jin Park pyj@viva100.com
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