Imagine having to deal with this.
Jimmy Patronis, Florida’s State Fire Marshal, caused quite the stir when he took to Twitter to shed light on electric cars flooded during Hurricane Ian posing a serious problem. According to him, firefighters who are helping clean up after the story must also contend with EVs which were submerged in water and now have corroding batteries which suddenly catch fire.
Shockingly, Washington Post recently dug into EV fires. Learn more here.
We’ve already covered the problem of EV fires and why so many in the media don’t want to talk about the problem. As a quick review, lithium-ion batteries used in electric cars burn far hotter and longer than the gasoline or diesel stored in a traditional vehicle’s tank. Firefighters must employ special techniques to get these fires under control, not to mention use a shocking amount of water.
Even after an EV fire is put out, extreme caution must be used around the vehicle. Once the batteries are damaged, an EV can suddenly catch fire again days later. If left unchecked, that fire can potentially go on for days.
Imagine how many of these situations Florida firefighters are dealing with. Plenty of people left behind at least one vehicle as they fled from the path of Ian. Streets flooded, garages flooded, others foolishly tried driving through the flooded streets and had to abandon their car. Now authorities get to contend with these ticking time bombs, which hopefully aren’t catching any buildings on fire.
What’s more, most EVs don’t have any mechanical overrides for opening the doors, hood, and rear hatch/trunk. There are a few exceptions to this, but for the rest firefighters must cut their way through body panels and doors as needed, further complicating their efforts. In some ways, all this technology has only made dealing with natural disasters like Hurricane Ian more cumbersome.
Now, read our thoughts on why EVs aren’t the best choice for transportation during a natural disaster.
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