![]() ![]() This narrative has another nefarious side effect: It stands to distract from a more complicated EV fire problem. Two recent Highway Loss Data Institute reports found that EVs posed no additional risk for non-crash fires, and the NFPA told Vox that from a fire safety perspective, EVs are no more dangerous than internal combustion cars. At the same time, misleading posts about EVs spontaneously exploding, or starting fires that can’t be put out with water, have helped promote the narrative that electric vehicles are far less safe than conventional cars. Videos of EV fires like the one in Austin tend to go viral, often attracting comments that condemn President Joe Biden and the electrification movement. Still, people have started associating EVs with dramatic fires for a few reasons. (This makes sense, in part because these vehicles carry highly flammable liquids like gasoline in their tanks, and, as their name implies, their engines work by igniting that fuel.) ![]() The overwhelming majority of car fires are caused by traditional internal combustion vehicles. While the US government doesn’t track the number of EV fires, specifically, Tesla’s reported numbers are far lower than the rate for highway fires overall, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) told Vox. Smith said his department has seen just a handful of EV fires. The Austin crash led to a lot of headlines, but EV fires are relatively rare. Though firefighters were able to put out the fire at the gas station, what remained of the car - little more than a burnt metal frame - reignited at a junkyard just a few hours later. At that point, the impact likely damaged one or several of the tiny cells that power the car’s battery, triggering a chain of chemical reactions that continued to light new flames. In Austin, the electric vehicle ignited after a slide across the base of a traffic pole that the driver had knocked down caused the battery on the bottom of the car to rupture. Like other Tesla fires, the fiery scene in Austin can be tied to the Model X’s high-voltage battery. The fact that it won’t go out immediately just makes it a little more spectacular to watch.” “Just imagine that magnified a couple times because of all the fuel load from the battery pack itself. “People have probably seen vehicles burning on the side of the road at one point or another,” Smith, the division chief at the Austin Fire Department, recalled. It took tens of thousands of gallons of water, multiple fire engines, and more than 45 minutes to finally extinguish the blaze. As emergency responders battled the fire in the dark of night, bursts of sparks shot out of the totaled car, sending plumes of smoke up into the sky. The driver, a teenager who was later arrested for driving while intoxicated, managed to escape the car, but the Tesla burst into flames. It was in the early morning hours of August 12, 2021, and a driver had slammed a Model X into a traffic light on a quiet residential street in Austin before crashing into a gas pump at a nearby Shell station. Washinton State Patrol said several vehicles overheated or ran out of gas while traffic was backed up.Īfter 3:45 p.m., the southbound express lanes on I-5 were reopened.īefore 7:30 p.m., the Seattle Department of Transportation tweeted that southbound I-5 was clear and all lanes were reopened.When Thayer Smith, a firefighter in Austin, Texas, received the call that a Tesla was on fire, he knew that he’d need to bring backup. The Washington State Department of Transportation alerted drivers that they should expect long delays on southbound I-5 as all lanes were closed, including the Mercer Street and southbound Boyleston ramps.Ĭhopper 7 flew over the scene of the fire and observed traffic which was backed up all the way to Northgate. crews had foam on the fire and at 2:23 p.m., an alert system from the city notified residents at Lakeview Boulevard East near southbound I-5 to close their windows and doors to avoid smoke exposure. They also requested help from the Seattle Department of Transportation and Boeing, which provided an additional foam truck to help put out the flames due to the hazardous situation.īy 2:15 p.m. ![]() Seattle firefighters called to the scene had limited access to water, as hydrants were far away from the freeway. At one point, one of the tanks that exploded on the truck fell down the freeway’s bridge side and landed at a construction site, causing a small fire. ![]()
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