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Ahh. (again)
Still wondering where the fluorine comes from.
The tricky bit about lithium burning is that you pretty much just have to wait it out. Normally, a class D extinguisher (i.e. military grade...we had those in the Navy) can put out a fire of burning metal. But with a lithium battery, it's not just the metal that is burning. The energy stored in the battery is being released in an exothermic manner. It ignites the metal, of course, but I don't think using a class D on it will do any good because the cell has been compromised, and that energy is going to be released very quickly.
On a recent cruise we did, we had "dinner with the officers". One of the two officers at our table was one of the engineers. He said that some ports are going to a "no petroleum propelled ships" policy. Which means electric. Which means batteries. A bank of batteries big enough to propel big ships. He said that was potentially extremely dangerous. We discussed it a bit, but I didn't want to bore everyone else at the table. That risk could be minimized by installing multiple small banks separated in space, rather that a few larger banks. But he was correct that if there's a fire, that energy is going to be released. You can't stop it once it starts. That battery has to discharge.
