Shenzhen in Guangdong province, China, the world's largest electric vehicle production base, is focusing its starting point for responding to EV fires on "prevention and early detection," not "suppression." When charging-station operators link battery and charger information to the authorities' integrated platform, abnormal signs such as battery overheating can be monitored remotely and alerts can be sent before a fire breaks out.
Hong Kong and Singapore have mandated emergency shutoff devices so firefighters can cut power to all EV charging facilities in a parking garage at once when a fire occurs. Unlike major overseas cities that build step-by-step response systems from detecting battery abnormalities to cutting charging power, water spraying, and smoke exhaust, Korea only began strengthening underground parking fire standards after the Cheongna EV fire.
◇ Shenzhen bans charging areas below basement level 4; remote monitoring for battery overheating
Shenzhen, called the "capital of the world's EVs," is home to the headquarters and factories of BYD. In 2017, Shenzhen became the first city in the world to convert all city buses to EVs, and later replaced taxis with EVs as well.
As EV adoption has grown quickly, fire safety management standards are also specific. In 2024, Shenzhen set fire safety management standards for EV underground parking lots. Charging facilities are to be installed on basement level 1 as a priority, and they are prohibited below basement level 4. Charging areas must be divided by groups with partition walls or spaced at least 6 meters apart between areas.
Underground parking lots must also be equipped with fire safety facilities such as automatic fire alarms, smoke exhaust systems, sprinklers, closed-circuit (CC)TV, and emergency lighting. Another feature is that it separately stipulates the fire safety responsibilities of building owners, management companies, and charging-station operators.
Abnormal battery signs are also monitored in real time. Charging-station operators must build their own monitoring systems and link charger information to Shenzhen's integrated power platform. The goal is for authorities to remotely detect battery overheating or charger abnormalities and issue early alerts.
◇ Hong Kong and Singapore cut power to charging facilities all at once
Hong Kong, where high-rise apartments and underground parking are prevalent, has applied additional fire standards since 2020 to parking lots with EV charging facilities. Parking lots without sprinklers must have fire detectors, and an emergency switch must be installed so firefighters can cut power to all charging facilities at once.
Singapore likewise requires installing an emergency power shutoff within a 15-meter travel distance from a charging area. If multiple charging facilities are on the same floor, activating the emergency switch must be able to cut power to the entire EV charging system on that floor. It has also set accessibility and marking standards so the switch can be operated manually without a separate key or specialized knowledge.
In Korea, the emergency stop button installed on a fast charger stops only that charger's operation. Its scope differs from the devices in Hong Kong and Singapore that help firefighting by shutting off power collectively to an entire floor or charging area.
Korea strengthened underground parking fire standards after the Cheongna fire. Since Mar. this year, newly installed sprinklers in underground parking lots are, in principle, to be wet systems with pipes kept full of water. This allows water to be discharged when a sprinkler head that senses heat opens, even if a fire detector fails or activation is delayed.
Water-spray systems such as sprinklers are effective at cooling a burning vehicle and slowing the spread of fire to nearby cars. However, general ceiling-mounted sprinklers alone have limits in directly stopping thermal runaway inside an underfloor battery. That is why places like Jiangsu province in China require adding quick-response sprinklers above each charging vehicle.
Kang Yunjin, a professor in the Department of Fire Safety and Equipment Engineering at Daelim University, said, "Placing EV chargers outdoors is the safest, but given the rapid growth in EVs, it is difficult as a practical alternative," and added, "To suppress fires before thermal runaway, it is necessary to install water-spray devices above and below parking spaces and to mandate independent smoke exhaust systems in underground parking lots."
◇ Detecting abnormal signs before fires with battery certification and BMS
Major countries are moving beyond suppression after a fire to strengthen systems that assess a battery's safety condition in advance. Since Feb. last year, Korea has implemented a safety certification system in which the government checks whether EV batteries meet safety standards, and a history management system that registers and manages battery identification numbers.
The European Union (EU) plans to implement a "battery passport" from Feb. 2027 that electronically records production, use, and recycling information for EV batteries. The system is intended to manage not only production information but also the condition and history that appear during use in a structured way.
The role of the battery management system (BMS) is also growing. A BMS checks in real time a battery's voltage, temperature, and state of charge to detect fire risks such as overcharging or micro short circuits. When abnormal signs appear, it notifies the vehicle owner by text message, and if the risk level rises, it can request maintenance or an emergency dispatch.
In Korea, for vehicles whose owners consent to provide information, a service is also in place in which the BMS, upon detecting a serious risk, transmits information necessary for fire response, such as the vehicle's location, to firefighting authorities.
An auto industry official said, "If BMS control technology is advanced, battery abnormalities can be identified before a fire," and added, "Along with physical early suppression facilities, we need to strengthen early warning systems that monitor battery conditions in real time."