For many throughout the United States, hurricane season brings the potential for successfully rendering your automobile a complete loss. The proliferation of electrical automobiles has added one other component of hazard: Saltwater-provoked lithium-ion battery fires.
CBS News stories that floodwaters from Hurricane Idalia brought on not less than two Tesla automobiles to burst into flames in Dunedin, Florida, roughly 20 miles north of St. Petersburg. The class 4 storm hit Florida’s Gulf Coast final week, with Tampa Bay experiencing a three-foot storm surge. Emergency providers rescued not less than 75 folks from flooded areas round St. Petersburg.
Palm Harbor Fire Rescue responded to the car fires and posted a warning on its Facebook web page. The message reads:
If you personal a hybrid or electrical car that has come into contact with saltwater because of current flooding inside the final 24 hours, it’s essential to relocate the car out of your storage directly. Saltwater publicity can set off combustion in lithium-ion batteries. If attainable, switch your car to increased floor.
*This consists of golf carts and electrical scooters. Don’t drive these by water. PHFR crews have seen quite a few residents out in golf carts and kids on scooters using by water.
When saltwater evaporates, the residual salt left within the battery can create bridges between the cells within the lithium-ion battery pack and spark an inferno. The blaze can shortly create a home fireplace if the EV was saved inside an hooked up storage when the storm hit. It is necessary to notice that the electrical automobile can appear fantastic however burst into flames weeks after being uncovered to saltwater. EV fires are notoriously tough to place out, with firefighters nonetheless struggling for a protected strategy to deal with EVs.
Source: jalopnik.com