Tesla in flames
Today's story comes to us from Sacramento, California, where a Tesla parked in a junkyard following a car accident caught fire after standing in the same spot for 3 weeks.Crews arrived to our first Tesla fire. It was involved in an accident 3 wks ago, and was parked in a wrecking yard. Crews knocked the fire down but it kept reigniting / off-gassing in the battery compartment. Crews created a pit, placed the car inside, and filled the pit with water pic.twitter.com/Lz5b5770lO
- Metro Fire of Sacramento (@metrofirepio) June 12, 2022
As we now know, fires that break out from lithium batteries are particularly difficult to extinguish - albeit relatively safe, given that there is no particular risk of explosion - and this was the first time that firefighters of Sacramento found themselves facing a fire of this type: after trying several times to put out the fire, and after noting that the flames would continue to reignite for a long time, the fire department of the Californian city decided to change their approach.
In order to put out the fire unleashed by the crashed Tesla, the firefighters dug a pit large enough to lower the burning remains of the car into it, which was then filled with water at the order to submerge Tesla completely, putting out the fire for good. To completely put out the flames emanating from the Tesla battery pack, the Sacramento firefighters used more than 17,000 liters of water; a large amount, but it could have been even bigger if the firefighters hadn't opted for the water hole method - this system has allowed to drastically reduce water consumption, a very important aspect in a state that suffer from severe drought problems like California.| ); }
Very active on social channels, the Sacramento firefighters told the story of their first intervention on a burned Tesla with posts on Facebook and Twitter, where they also showed images and videos of the burning car and remain once the intervention is completed; undoubtedly these fires are frightening because they are difficult to extinguish, but over time we will surely find efficient and effective solutions to quickly extinguish these fires as well.
A Tesla Caught On Fire Three Weeks After Sitting At A Wrecking Yard
There have been quite a few instances where electric vehicles have caught fire resulting in many sensationalized reports (and some costly recalls), but a new one from California demonstrates one major concern.
Despite the fact that EVs are, in fact, the least at risk of having a car fire, when they do go up, they are very hard to put out. One Tesla just demonstrated that by burning to the ground after sitting in a wrecking yard for some three weeks.
When a battery-electric vehicle experiences a thermal runaway and catches fire, it’s incredibly tough to stop. In some cases, just a single battery cell can lead to one such runaway event as it triggers the cells around it to overheat as well. In the case of this specific Tesla, the crash that landed it at the scrap yard didn’t reportedly involve battery damage or fire.
Metro Fire of Sacramento arrived on the scene with the car already fully engulfed in flames. Despite having all of its normal tools on hand, they couldn’t fully extinguish the fire without resorting to serious measures. That included building a pit, putting the Tesla in it and then filling it with water to cool the hot components to a stable temperature.
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That stopped the blaze and the fire department went on to clarify what they knew of the situation: “The vehicle sat parked in a wrecking yard for 3 weeks after a vehicle accident (not involving fire), and then caught fire in the yard. Our crews were dispatched, and ensured the vehicle was extinguished after well over an hour of firefighting operations.”
There’s no report on how exactly this fire began and it’s unlikely that we’ll ever know for sure due to the extensive damage. Many companies are working hard to create batteries that greatly reduce the chance of thermal runaway.
Thankfully, nobody was injured in the incident. While EVs, in general, are quite safe with regard to fires, it will be interesting to see how fire departments adapt to this new challenge over time. We doubt building a pit and moving the vehicle will be a viable solution in most cases.