Oh dear, another brand new Tesla destroyed by fire.

[Deleted member 126969]

It's not so much the catching fire , it's the putting it out bit that is interesting. All sorts of vehicles catch fire without ending up on the news , but when it's a Tesla or a supercar it becomes 'news'.

There is certainly bias. I recall a case where the headlines were full of “electric car catches fire and damages house, family escape horror blaze”. When the details finally came out, the car was a hybrid and it caught fire because some scumbag petrol bombed it.

 

[jimbg]

It happens to Jag's as well...

Jaguar I-PACE electric SUV caught on fire, automaker is investigating the cause

A Jaguar I-PACE electric SUV caught on fire in the Netherlands last week while parked in a driveway. The cause...

electrek.co

So it must be true that EV's catch fire..........

 

[Bellow]

Man bites dog is a story.
Dog bites man is not a story.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Good to see that the firewall (aka bulkhead) stood up to the challenge. (cough, cough)

 

[Deleted member 126251]

I am guessing that the issue is cooling-down the smoldering batteries rather than the initial putting-out of the actual flames.

But are Tesla fires more difficult to extinguish than other EVs? Genuine question.

AFAIK they mainly use Lithium Ion cells. Thermal runaway is the problen and I believe that all the firefighters are doing is keeping the flames under control, as they cannot actually extinguish the flames.

At a hobby level (been using them in RC aircraft for about 20 years), I know that the charge of each individual cell (in a pack) has to be monitored/balanced so that it is not overcharged.

In the early days there were several house & car fires (using car battery to charge battery packs at field) from the batteries being charged without balancing the charge across the individual cells in the pack. In use, the cells discharge at a slightly different rate - one cell may have a higher residual charge after use - if the pack is recharged without a balancer, the cell that started higher will get overcharged and can catch alight.

 

[Deleted member 126251]

I am guessing that the issue is cooling-down the smoldering batteries rather than the initial putting-out of the actual flames.

But are Tesla fires more difficult to extinguish than other EVs? Genuine question.

Thermal runaway - AFAIK just controlling the heat and flames until all the cells are burned out.