Free Republic

Twenty people were evacuated Wednesday night from Hanegev Street in the northern city of Haifa, after a fire broke out in the courtyard of a residential building, Behadrey Haredim reported. The initial report claimed that the fire was in the building itself, but upon firefighters' arrival at the scene, it became clear that the blaze was in the courtyard, and not in an apartment. Magen David Adom (MDA) paramedics provided medical care to 20 victims. Eighteen of the victims had suffered mild injuries, while the other two were moderately injured, all of them from smoke inhalation. ..... A fire investigator...

One day after officials touted the passage of the Connecticut Clean Air Act, including plans for thousands of electric vehicles to hit the road, one of the state-run electric buses caught on fire over the weekend. The blaze engulfed a CTtransit bus in a Hamden parking lot Saturday morning, sending two workers and a firefighter to the hospital, officials said. “Lithium ion battery fires are difficult to extinguish due to the thermal chemical process that produces great heat and continually reignites,” Hamden fire officials said. Two transit workers were hospitalized as a precaution after being exposed to the smoke. A...

An Electric Bus Caught Fire After Battery Explosion in Paris https://youtu.be/5r-yN8SugWM A video recording shows the start of the fire which completely consumed an electric RATP bus on Friday 29 April. The incident caused no injuries. The bus burst into flames within seconds. This is what can be seen on the video that captured the very beginning of the fire of an electric vehicle of the RATP in Paris , this Friday, April 29. In the images, we can see a small explosion occur on the roof of the bus, where the batteries are located, followed by huge flames that...

General Motors has been quick to allay concerns that the Chevy Volt had anything to do with an explosion at a testing facility that appears to have injured five workers, one possibly seriously. The explosion has been attributed to gases from a lithium-based prototype battery being developed at GM's tech center. While the incident should not serve as an indictment against the Volt, concerns about volatile lithium-ion batteries are legitimate. Initial reports on the accident vary as to the severity of the injuries to workers with some sources describing "life threatening" injuries to one woman and others stating that...