Posted on 08/14/2024 10:57:50 PM PDT by dennisw
The fiery failure of an electric vehicle led to countless other cars being damaged and caused conditions hostile enough to send nearly two dozen people to the hospital.
The devastating incident unfolded on the morning of Aug. 1 as an electric Mercedes-Benz EQE caught fire while parked in a packed underground garage below an Incheon, South Korea, apartment complex.
The vehicle was not charging or running when it ignited.
According to Korea JoongAng Daily, the fire department received nearly 200 calls while the fire spread and belched black smoke into the sky.
In total, 177 first responders arrived to fight the fire and handle evacuations of the complex.
Despite the massive response, it took emergency crews eight hours to extinguish the blaze completely.
Expand article logo Continue reading In total, 106 people were rescued as smoke filled the area, and 103 others were evacuated. No deaths were reported, but 21 people were sent to the hospital with injuries sustained during the fire.
Several children and a firefighter were among those hospitalized.
A surveillance video from the garage showed white smoke streaming from the Mercedes. An explosion followed a few seconds later, igniting the blaze.
According to The Korea Times, Mercedes is losing trust in the country due to its "overly defensive" response to the fire. Part of the problem appears to be the company's willingness to pledge a donation in the amount of 4.5 billion Korean won (roughly $3.3 million) while refusing to issue a public apology.
In addition, Mercedes has kept details about its battery supply chain largely under wraps despite consumer concerns.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Lithium battery production:
- China is the overall largest producer
- USA
- Europe
- some other countries
https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/lithium-ion-battery-manufacturing-capacity-2022-2030
Never had that happen to a gas car or even heard of it.
My golf caddy battery is pretty small but may want to charge it on the patio. Bet most ebike batteries caught fire after a fall.
A lot of the EBike Fires are from cheaper batteries/bikes.
The better bikes typically have Samsung batteries or other reputable companies.
IF you buy a cheap E Bike, you are most likely getting a crappy cheap Chinese knock off battery. The BATTERY is a big percentage (at least half) the cost of the bike.
I am waiting for the E Bike Pro to come down in price:
https://eridepros.com/product/pro-ss-19/
Currently $4900
This is basically an electric motocross bike. Capable of 60 mph speeds.
I was just up in Bar Harbor, ME this past weekend. We rented E Bikes to ride around Acadia National Park one day. A must see IMHO. These peddle assist bikes topped out at 30 MPH. The speed limit in the park is 25 MPH. It sure made it a pleasure going up Cadillac Mountain. Passing other bicycle riders and basically doing the same speed as an automobile. Then coming down the mountain I probably wore out the brakes to keep me from exceeding 30 mph.
The problem for all Lithium battery fires is that the average fire department is not capable of putting them out. They will continue to burn even under water. Therefore, they ignite all the other flammable materials around them. Which will include the lumber, plywood, OSB in your house. All the plastic in the car, etc. So, the only thing most fire departments can do is to keep it from spreading to adjacent structures.
The other thing that all the fire departments hated was when automobile had magnesium wheels. This was all explained to me by a few of my local volunteer fire department guys.
In some of the cities they now have a pool they can put an EV auto into. So it can sit in there for a couple days submerged until the fire eventually burns itself out.
Have golf cart batteries changed to lithium ion? They were all sealed lead acid before.
Not being critical but what are you going to do if it has a problem and catches on fire? Sounds to me like the most anyone can do for a battery fire is to watch it burn.
What runs on batteries?
Toys!
I had read a story awhile back about some of the EVs (don’t know the brand) in China which said it was a premium brand there, but also involved with the most problems. I don’t think it stated what all the problems were, but apparently many of them were just hauled away & not repaired.
The top electric vehicle (EV) producers include:
BYD (Chinese conglomerate)
Tesla (U.S. company)
Volkswagen
General Motors (GM)
Stellantis
GAC Aion
Ford Motor Company
Hyundai Motors
________________________
BYD produces a wide range of EVs. Very high-end ones too, that catch on fire, for no reason.
China’s Flagship BYD EVs are Exploding in Huge Numbers (2.4 million views)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOA7qKMcjcE
BYD’s Blade Battery is Catching Fire all over China!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKa8mVOe5so
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