Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumCybertruck Catches Fire After Running Into Fire Hydrant And Getting Wet. It Needed A Lot More Water To Be Put Out.
Cybertruck Catches Fire After Running Into Fire Hydrant And Getting Wet.
It Needed A Lot More Water To Be Put Out.
Futurism | Victor Tangermann | AUG 28, 4:18 PM EDT
A Tesla Cybertruck burst into flames after crashing into a fire hydrant outside a Bass Pro Shop in Harlingen, Texas and getting doused in copious amounts of water, igniting the battery.
As local news station Valley Central reports, first responders were optimistic that they had successfully battled the flames, only for the fire to resume after they stopped to spray the truck's battery with even more water.
It's unclear if any injuries resulted from the accident.
The incident highlights just how difficult it is to put out a burning EV even if it happens to crash into a device intended to fight fires. Fire departments have had to change tactics, using full PPE due to toxic fumes, tapping multiple fire hydrants or multiple water tankers, and developing new solutions like EV fire-specific fire blankets...more
https://futurism.com/the-byte/cybertruck-fire-water
https://www.reddit.com/r/CyberStuck/
3 Weeks Ago
RELATED:
Mini Cooper EV Recalled Over Batteries That Can Spark A Fire
Mini was first alerted to the issue when a Cooper SE caught fire in October
CarScoops | Brad Anderson | August 27, 2024
More than 12,500 Mini Cooper SE EVs are being recalled because they have high-voltage batteries that could short circuit and catch fire. Clearly, this is not a recall that owners should ignore.
The car manufacturer says that faults in the high-voltage battery or high-voltage system can trigger a short circuit, which may lead to overheating and a fire, even if the vehicle is not in operation. Curiously, there doesnt appear to be a common issue as documents said faults in the battery could be caused by several reasons.
A total of 12,535 Mini Cooper SE 2 Door Hardtops from the 2020-2024 model years are impacted by the recall. These vehicles were manufactured between March 21, 2019 and January 25, 2024.
BMW was first alerted to a potential problem in October 2023, when a Cooper SE caught fire in the United States. In January of this year, another model burst into flames in Germany, and an engineering analysis identified isolation faults within the battery. Investigations continued between April and July, before the decision to go ahead with a recall was made on August 8. No reports of accidents or injuries related to the issue have been shared with BMW...more
https://www.carscoops.com/2024/08/mini-cooper-ev-recalled-over-batteries-that-can-spark-a-fire/
Blue Owl
(54,604 posts)RipVanWinkle
(263 posts)Why don't you report ICE car fires?
Evs vs ice cars catching on fire
Based on the analyzed data, here are the key findings:
Hybrid cars are more prone to catching fire than both EVs and ICE cars, according to a 2022 study.
EVs are less likely to catch fire than ICE cars, with a fire rate of 0.0012% for passenger vehicle batteries (based on a global study from 2010 to 2020) compared to 0.1% for ICE passenger vehicles.
Swedens Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) reported that in 2022, there were 23 fires in 611,000 EVs, resulting in a rate of 0.004%, which is 20 times less likely to happen than ICE car fires (3,400 fires in 4.4 million cars, or 0.08%).
A report by EV FireSafe, funded by Australias Department of Defence, found fewer than 500 electric car battery fires out of 20 million EVs worldwide, making it 80-odd times rarer than an ICE car fire.
Limited data and varying methodologies make it challenging to draw definitive conclusions, but overall, the evidence suggests that EVs are less likely to catch fire than ICE cars.
Key Takeaways
Hybrid cars appear to be more prone to fires than both EVs and ICE cars.
EVs are significantly less likely to catch fire than ICE cars, with a lower fire rate.
While EV fires may be more challenging to extinguish due to lithium-ion battery issues, the overall risk of an EV catching fire is lower than that of an ICE car.
Caribbeans
(953 posts)If this isn't clear by now it will be
ffr
(23,112 posts)Just as you pointed out, ICE vehicles account for almost all vehicular fires, but they're getting safer.
In 1980, there were almost half a million of them that burned, that's more than 1,250 per day in the U.S. alone.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/377006/nmber-of-us-highway-vehicle-fires/
In 2021, it's now down to under 180,000 burned vehicles per year, of which Teslas account for about 200. So when a Tesla burns, it makes news, just like you said, because it's so unusual that this happens to Tesla EVs.
moniss
(5,534 posts)because there are far more ICE vehicles on the road and therefore more chances for a fire. What's not there can't happen. So a more accurate measure is fires per 1000 vehicles or if really getting into the thick of statistics then fires per 1000 miles driven. That second measure would take into account actual fires per mile used. I don't know where the numbers would land but I know just citing totals is misleading.
ffr
(23,112 posts)moniss
(5,534 posts)come in.
moniss
(5,534 posts)group by cause of fire. To simply say an ICE vehicle had a fire implies it had an origin with the gas/diesel engine. It does not account for fires that were electrical in origin. It also does not account for ICE vehicles which were "performance modified" by their owners. Owners swapping out parts for "aftermarket" the fuel delivery/electrical systems is very common. Problems and malfunctions with aftermarket parts is likewise very common.
However the numbers shake out I expect an EV to still have fewer fires but I don't go for arriving at a conclusion on misleading application and analysis which is what most of these "studies" do. The NHTSA accident reporting data is and has been seriously flawed for decades with unequal application of criteria by safety responders and misreporting of items. Many times forms are half filled in at best. We suffer from this in the trucking industry because even if a car crosses the median and strikes a semi truck it still is considered a "truck involved" accident and counts in total figures and is cited by "safety" groups as an indication of severity of "problems" with safety in the trucking industry. We have for decades been demanding more accurate recording of circumstances and facts surrounding crashes in order to better analyze the situations presented and formulate responses to focus on crash avoidance/reduction of severity based on accurate information. We haven't gotten much from the Feds other than "we'll take your suggestions under advisement" sorts of answers.
So how accurately do these "fire" statistics cited reflect what's really happening? The answer is we don't know at this point but we know from past experience not to rely too heavily on accuracy for either ICE or EV reports.