Copied and pasted from Google’s AI overview - so take it for what it’s worth:
Frequency:
ICE vehicles: Experience fires at a higher rate, with approximately 1,530 fires per 100,000 vehicles sold.
EVs: Experience fires at a much lower rate, with around 25 fires per 100,000 vehicles sold.
Hybrids: Have a higher fire incident rate than both EVs and ICE vehicles.
The article did talk about how EV fires are harder to extinguish.
THIS is the real issue.
Yes, gasoline vapors are explosively flammable.
However, gasoline and diesel fuel fires can be extinguished with standard fire extinguishers, foam and WATER.
The real issue is that EV battery fires CAN NOT be extinguished by most fire departments. Especially rural volunteer fire departments. They may have foam. They MAY have a blanket to put over the vehicle. Some metro areas now have a water tank to immerse an EV n until it goes out. Which could take DAYS.
Meanwhile, as long as that fire is going it is causing other materials around it to potentially combust. Including IF they get hot enough the fire proof material surround structural steel/concrete.