How you can ensure that your house is EV Fire Safe

Lithium ion batteries have received a lot of attention because of the dangerous fires they create when they come on fire.

More Australians switch to electric vehicles for fuel cost savings, the environmental benefits and the driving experience.

Once considered an impossibility, vehicles that run entirely on stored electrical energy are now far from an unusual choice for car buyers. Instead of putting weekly petrol stations, Aussies now connect their cars to juice the lithium ion batteries that feed their engines every night after they get home.

EVs are more popular than ever

The figures speak for themselves. According to the electric vehicle council, EVS accounted for more than 12% of all new car sales in Australia between January and June 2025, an increase of 9.6% in the same period last year.

With such a profit in popularity, it follows that when it comes to buying or building a home, Aussies quickly become more interested in how their home can support an EV -lifestyle.

Australians want to charge at home

Realestate.com.au’s 2025 survey for real estate seekers has a significant increase in the way buyers give priority at home to charging at home.

The desire for EV chargers at home has risen from 13% to 24% of buyers alone in one year between 2024 and 2025.

But with lithium-ion batteries the subject of constant media attention because of their fire risk, and the endless sales talks that promise to be the only product that can well extinguish an EV fire, it is of course that some may wonder whether their EV increases the risk of a fire in their home.

Convenience is king: Australians want to charge their cars quickly at home. Image: Getty

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What is a lithium-ion battery fire?

Lithium ion batteries can turn into a dangerous fire risk when one of the cells enters the thermal runner. This is a self -sufficient, unstable chemical reaction that ensures that the cell heats uncontrollably. This can be caused by damage to the cell or extreme heat.

When it comes to EVs, typical fire retarders cannot extinguish the fire because the cells are covered with different types of protective casing and are therefore not accessible to be cooled. In general, firefighters manage the fire with oppression and enclosure, so that the cells can burn out.

According to Emma Sutcliffe, the founder and director of EV Fire Safe, there are some important facts that consumers need to know about EVs and their fire risk.

The first, as she explained during a presentation that was organized last month by the Housing Industry Association, is that fires caused by Lithium ion batteries in EVs are extremely rare.

Mrs. Sutcliffe even said that she could say “with great confidence that Lithium-ion driven sex toys have actually put more Australian houses than electric cars.”

There have only been 11 electric vehicle fires in Australia, once. That is compared to 240 fires that NSW fired back in the first ten months of 2024 and save to lithium ion batteries.

“Electric cars are subject to enormous safety regulations. They must be tested and meet all kinds of standards. But Vapes, e-bikes, these smaller, non-regulated Lithium-ion battery-driven devices that can be purchased with a click on the button, they do not have to meet a kind of regulation, and the standards are just starting to catch up, and the standards are just recently.

EVs are subject to an enormous amount of regulations, which guarantees their safety. Image: Getty

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Ensure that your house EV is safe

EV owners will be relieved to know that EV fires are extremely rare, in almost all 11 cases in Australia, the cause of the fire did not come to the car, but the batteries of the car fought on fire because of another fire in a home garage.

So when it comes to building a house that reduces the risk of EV burning, or your existing home for safety, there are a few important things that Mrs. Sutcliffe said that EV owners should consider with regard to fire safety.

The most important thing that Australians have to do when they charge at home with a permanently wired EV charger is to select an electric compatible charging system and have it installed by a qualified person.

“Simply put, in normal operational EVs registered by the road, it is electrically impossible for the battery to be charged too much, so that it is set on fire while he uses an electric unit that was installed on standard according to a qualified person,” EV Fire Safe reported.

Australian standards also maintain the installation of an insulator switch within two meters from a Hardwired EV -Laading unit.

And if Aussies want to install solar panels and a battery to help with charging their car, they must be aware that in Australia batteries cannot be installed on outside walls outside of rooms such as bedrooms, lounges and studies. There are other regulations, such as a minimal proximity of Windows and ventilation openings, so consumers who build a house that they want to be able to do, have to undertake a solar battery to look at the design that supports this goal.

If the use of a level 1 charger with an EV – usually a specialized cable supplied with the vehicle that is connected directly to a power point, consumers must ensure that the electrical wiring of the house is to the code and meets the mandatory safety requirements of the state.

It is also very important that EV owners do not use powerboards, adapters or extension cords with these cables.

Take care of your car – and your house

According to the protocols of EV Fire Safe, Australians should not join EV if it has been involved in AA traffic accident where emergency aid was needed; If it was put under water in flood water; exposed to fire; Or called back by the manufacturer. These vehicles must be checked in a dealer or service center before being charged.

There are also some good habits that Australians can practice on EV -chargers to protect both their vehicles and their houses.

Before and after charging it is a good idea to check for errors or a warning light on the dashboard or the app of the EV.

Check the loading unit, plug and cable for wear and do not use damaged charging equipment.

After charging, place all cables in a safe place to reduce the risk of damage.

And when it comes to the online products that are available online that promise to extinguish an EV fire, Mrs. Sutcliffe is clear: “None of them works”.

Although extremely rare, if they are confronted with the possibility of an EV battery fire, Mrs. Sutcliffe emphasizes that the best way of acting is “evacuating and having firefers deal with it”.

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