Firefighters from the state of Florida in the USA pointed out that the characteristic shared by these vehicles is that they were submerged during Hurricane Ian .
A hundred electric cars began to burn for no apparent reason on October 12 in Florida , United States .
The reports mention that these vehicles, among which are models of the Tesla brand and other manufacturers, burned spontaneously in different locations in the state.
What the respective authority highlights is that, although they are not very familiar with similar cases, the investigations showed that all the electric cars that suddenly began to burn were submerged in water for days after Hurricane Ian hit the Florida coast. a few weeks ago.
A nightmare for Florida firefighters
As the Florida firefighters pointed out once the incident was reported, all these cars were submerged in salt water due to the flooding caused by the violent Hurricane Ian . The institution mentions that as these vehicles surfaced, they caught fire as the hours passed.
Jimmy Patronis , chief financial officer and Florida Fire Marshal , confirmed that “there are thousands of electric cars disabled by Hurricane Ian.” In addition, he mentioned that “as batteries corrode from salt water they spontaneously ignite. Firefighters are learning as they go, they have never faced anything like this . ”
In the past, turning off an electric car completely has been shown to be extremely difficult, and the process can take hours and require thousands of liters of water. Patronis mentions that “special training is needed to ensure that the fires are really put out” because there are cars that have burned again after certain hours.
The fire department mentions that the fire in these vehicles is a chemical reaction to the mixture of lithium with salt water, which is one of the main problems of the electric car . In the United States alone , spontaneous fires from already scrapped electric cars have already been reported.
I asked @NHTSAgov to provide guidance to Florida on how to handle EVs impacted by saltwater from Hurricane Ian. I’m concerned these cars may be ticking time bombs. MORE HERE: https://t.co/n0TkKZGSEo pic.twitter.com/BD5lePwQjV
— Jimmy Patronis (@JimmyPatronis) October 7, 2022
An intrinsic problem of electric cars
The images were captured in the North Collier district and show a white Tesla receiving two jets of water to prevent it from burning again. Firefighters then scrambled to cut through the hood with a hacksaw so they could access the vehicle’s mechanics. Firefighters have asked the population with electric cars that, in case they have been damaged by Ian , they remove them from their garages and drive them to unpopulated areas to avoid tragedies.
Currently, Florida is the second state in the US with the most electric cars in circulation: 95,000 units. Of course, there was no lack of criticism against this type of vehicle by the authorities. For example, Myron Ebel , director of the Center and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute , described the electric car as “a scam and a good deal for some people . “