An electric vehicle caught fire while charging in a household outlet – firefighters used a special blanket

Edited by: Giorgos Palikaris

A burning car is always a scary sight. You never know when (and if) the explosion will be heard, how many dangerous gases will be released into the atmosphere (especially in tunnel traffic accidents), but also how long the fire will last.

Especially in electric cars equipped with lithium batteries, things are more complicated, as turning them off requires tremendous mobility. They usually pour thousands of liters of water, or drown them in a dirt ditch.

In Colorado, the fire department was called to deal with a difficult incident. A Jaguar I-Pace caught fire while being shipped in the garage of a private home.

After all occupants of the home were safely evacuated and the flames extinguished, firefighters found that the Jaguar battery was still burning. As mentioned, fires caused by lithium-ion batteries are particularly difficult to extinguish due to the location of the batteries and the enormous amount of chemical energy stored in them. An electrical fire can rage for days if left unchecked.

This time the 44,000 liters were not used. Of the water that was required to extinguish a burning Tesla in the past, but the special blanket.

Special blankets: 6 meters long, 28 kg in weight, and priced at about 4,000 euros. With them they cover the electric vehicle and, by reducing the oxygen supply, the extent and severity of the fire is determined (it can even be completely extinguished depending on the model) and the firefighters are then able to manage the incident better.