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A UK electric vehicle (EV) owner has shared his frustration after being turned away from a hospital car park over fears his car ‘might explode’.
Paul Freeman-Powell was taking his seven-year-old son for a medical at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool when he was greeted by signs at the entrance to one of the car parks saying ‘No Electric Vehicles’.
According to a post uploaded on x – formerly known as Twitter – by Mr Freeman-Powell, he was told by a security guard that electric cars could not park in this car park as “the battery would react with the metal car park and could catch fire [or] exploding.”
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What is the ACTUAL F, @AlderHey? EVs are banned because, the security guard said, “the battery will react with the metal parking and could catch fire/explode”?!💥What new Fossil Fuel lobbied nonsense is this?!@FullyChargedShw @StopBSCampaign @fairchargeuk @QuentinWillson pic. twitter.com/9gfaRqXVT3 — Paul Freeman-Powell (@paulfp) May 1, 2024
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Mr Freeman-Powell was able to park elsewhere to make the appointment. He later submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to find out why he and other EV owners were not allowed to use the car park in question.
Although it has yet to receive a response, a spokesperson for Alder Hey Hospital told the BBC that it had “temporarily restricted the parking of electric vehicles in one of our smaller car parks while we upgrade its fire sprinkler system”.
The decision was reportedly taken after Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service made a recommendation to Alder Hey Hospital.
The hospital’s main car park also has 14 EV charging spaces and is open to battery-powered vehicles as it has been upgraded with a more suitable sprinkler system.
Despite the hospital’s explanation, EV experts disputed the advice allegedly given by the fire service, with former Top Gear presenter and motoring journalist Quentin Wilson – who runs the advocacy group Fair Charge – saying the decision contradicted the benefits for health from electric cars.
“[…] for the NHS [National Health Service] restricting electric cars from parking lots is in dramatic conflict with the clean air and health benefits of zero tailpipe emissions,” he said.
The head of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit research group, Colin Walker, also cited data from Australian research firm EV FireSafe, which found petrol and diesel vehicles were 80 times more likely to catch fire than electric cars.
However, EVs burn hotter and require significantly more water to extinguish their flames, hence the recommended upgrades to the hospital’s sprinkler system.
In Australia, Monash Health banned staff from charging their electric cars at any of its 11 hospitals and medical centers in Victoria last year, although this included devices such as e-scooters, which can more easily circumvent Australian regulations on charging.
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