CAM-473

Smoke and flame at the foot of a car plugged into the charger

Deep night on the charging level. A white car is parked in a space painted blue, with the connector plugged in and the cable running to the charge point on the wall. At the foot of the bodywork there’s a small flame and a column of gray smoke climbing the wall to the ventilation grille. To the left, behind the pillar, another car is parked. IRIS sees the smoke from the first moment; with a thermal camera it also reads the heat before there’s any flame.

CAM-473 · EV CHARGING BAY · SMOKE AND FLAME

What IRIS understands

What it recognizes in this scene

flame at the foot of the vehicle
column of smoke climbing the wall
car plugged in on the charging space
charge point on the wall
ventilation grille the smoke is reaching
car parked in the space next to it

What this camera measures

An alert says something’s happening. The reading says how much.

35 sTime with smoke
23:47Time of the first smoke
5Vehicles in frame
3Charging spaces in frame
0People in frame

The figures on this screen are an example from the illustration, not any client’s measurement.

The rule

You decide once. IRIS applies it always.

smoke or flame appears in the charging spaces area

Then

alert the control desk and whoever runs the emergency plan with the level, the space and the time
save the video from one minute before the first smoke
count the vehicles and the people still on the level

The instruction that set it up«Alert me the moment you see smoke or flame in the charging area, even if no alarm has gone off.»

What changes

What changes for whoever runs the parking lot

A basement full of cars is the worst place for a fire: the smoke has nowhere to go, the ramps act as chimneys, and a battery fire isn’t put out like a gas one. It has to be cooled for hours, and a cell written off as out can light up again when nobody is watching any more. Bringing the alert forward changes everything that follows: who is called, which way people are evacuated and how many cars are still inside when the level is closed.

What people usually ask

Does IRIS know if the car’s battery is going wrong inside?

No. The camera sees the smoke, the flame and the firelight on the floor; with a thermal camera it also reads the surface heat, which rises before there’s any flame. What’s happening inside the cell is told by the vehicle’s own battery management system, not by a camera. IRIS contributes the picture and the exact minute it started.

Why is a fire in an underground garage different?

Because the smoke has no way out and there are dozens of fuel tanks and batteries a few feet away. And because a lithium fire isn’t put out like a gas one: it has to be cooled for hours and can light up again long after it was called out. Seeing the smoke in the first moments, rather than once it has filled the level, changes the response time and which exits can still be used.

Does IRIS replace the parking lot’s fire detectors?

No. The detectors and the suppression system remain in charge and aren’t touched. IRIS works alongside them: it looks, and in a tall open space smoke is seen sooner by a camera than by a ceiling detector. It also says exactly where, with a picture, which is precisely what’s needed to decide the way in and the way out.

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