CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – An electric vehicle caught fire over the weekend at a Charleston car dealership.
The Charleston Fire Department said the fire broke out while the vehicle was inside the dealership before it could be transported outside where crews extinguished the flames.
This fire, along with any other electric vehicle fire, poses some special challenges — more so than a typical car fire.
When dealing with electric vehicle fires, the composition of the battery and some components causes it to enter the thermal runaway stage.
“These are highly burning fires that water cannot effectively extinguish immediately,” Capt. David Hodges of the Charleston Fire Department said.
He says that a typical car fire can be extinguished in minutes, but electric car fires do not go out easily.
“If there’s a fire in an electric vehicle, you typically have to flush water for an hour or hours to continue to cool it down, so we don’t have to restart that battery,” Hodges said.
This car fire starts a conversation about how to prevent electric car fires.
Most electric cars are powered by lithium-ion batteries, so the U.S. Fire Department says it’s important to follow the manufacturer’s instructions when charging your car. Check with your local dealer if you need additional information.
Having a qualified electrician come to your home and, among other things, install a residual current device with a charging unit that will turn off the power if a fault is detected and help prevent a fire, can also be crucial.
Plug EV chargers directly into an outlet designed to handle the charging device’s current. Never use a multi-plug adapter or extension cord.
If you have any specific safety questions about your vehicle, it is important to contact your vehicle manufacturer for any specific guidelines to follow.
The Charleston Fire Department says the cause of the car fire over the weekend has not been determined.
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