FROM THE ROAD.

Tesla Model S battery burns, serious difficulties in "taming" electric car flames

Firefighters took more than two hours and more than 20,000 gallons of water to extinguish a fire at a Tesla following a car accident onInterstate 95 at Wakefield in Massachusetts last week.

First responders spotted the electric vehicle wedged against a guardrail in the right emergency lane. In an attempt to free the car, the guardrail punctured frame protecting the underside of the vehicle causing the lithium-ion batteries to thermally leak.

Firefighters then said that the Tesla Model S was completely engulfed in flames.

photo Courtesy/Wakefield Fire Department
We are in Wakefield, in Massachusetts (USA)
A Tesla Model S last week crashed overnight into a guardrail on Interstate 95 at Wakefield, in the United States. The driver, 38, reportedly failed to notice a small block of dirty ice and hit it, losing control of his electric car. No other vehicles were involved.
photo Courtesy/Wakefield Fire Department
The Tesla caught fire
But it was not the actual impact with the guardrail that caused the most damage. When the owner of the Tesla returned home without seeking medical attention, the Model S caught fire.
photo video CBN Boston
What happened?
Firefighters from Wakefield and state police responded to the scene. In an attempt to free the car from the roadway, the guardrail punctured the lower part of the chassis causing the lithium-ion batteries of the Tesla Model S. The car immediately caught fire and was engulfed in flames.
photo video CBN Boston
Firefighters put to the test
To extinguish the fire, firefighters spent two and a half hours spraying "copious amounts of water on the vehicle," totaling more than 75,700 liters, according to the statement in the release later issued. Firefighters used three hoses and a "gun blitz" to cool the battery compartment of Tesla.
photo by weertdegekste
A problem confined to the United States?
The fire chief of Wakefield, Tom Purcell, admitted that the department does not have a procedure for extinguishing electric vehicle fires and acts on instinct. And the U.S. probably needs to do more to train firefighters on how to respond to electric vehicle fires.
photo by weertdegekste
China and Europe more prepared
China and Europe have many more electric vehicles on the road, and firefighters are more experienced in dealing with electric vehicle fires. In Europe, for example, electric vehicles on fire are submerged in a water tank, where they can cool down. This means that firefighters across Europe have access to mobile pools to contain a burning electric vehicle. The procedure also limits the amount of harmful gas released into the atmosphere during a battery fire.
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