This is the future of transportation.
A situation developed in Phoenix, Arizona back on June 23 at the Nikola Corporation building near Sky Harbor Airport when four all-electric semi-trucks caught fire. A reporter from Fox 10 Phoenix was on scene and said it smelled awful, plus you can see in the video footage the smoke was rathe thick. It was termed not only a fire but also a hazmat situation, something that inevitably happens when lithium-ion batteries burn.
Learn how a simple water bottle can start a car fire.
Thanks to thermal runaway, fighting an EV fire like this, especially when the Nikola semi-trucks have such large battery packs, isn’t easy. Firefighters were dousing the trucks with water for a long time but they kept reigniting. One firefighter interviewed said it wasn’t possible to use sand to help extinguish the blaze because of the size of the vehicles. It all looked like quite the mess.
The messaging that’s coming not only from automakers but many corporate media outlets and even federal government agencies is that EVs are a “green” solution to a poisoned environment. But situations like this make it seem like electric vehicles are actually doing the poisoning. Sure, there’s no diesel smoke coming out of exhaust stacks on these trucks, but the acrid smoke from the fire has to be far worse than emissions from regular semis driving long distances.
Lithium-ion battery fires are no joke. As reported by WJXT in Jacksonville, Florida a family lost their home to a fire that was started by a charging golfcart. You can see in the video of the incident, what’s left of the home is in shambles. We’ve seen what electric car fires can do to homes and it’s horrific.
Firefighters took the opportunity in Jacksonville to educate people in the area about the dangers of lithium-ion battery fires. What amazed us was one guy interviewed on camera admitted he didn’t realize how many devices he owns that use them, nor did he understand the risks involved. Sadly, we think this is common.
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