Friday 7 October 2022 04:40 PM Electric vehicles are exploding in Florida as Hurricane Ian's water damage ... trends now
Firefighters in Florida are dealing with a new problem in the wake of Hurricane Ian's damaging floods - explosive fires caused by waterlogged batteries in electric vehicles.
When EV batteries take on a large amount of water, they're at risk corrosion and that can lead to unexpected fires, according to a top fire official in the state - which is America's second largest EV market after California with 95,000 registered vehicles.
'There’s a ton of EVs disabled from Ian. As those batteries corrode, fires start,' Florida's fire marshal and top financial officer David Patronis tweeted Thursday. 'That’s a new challenge that our firefighters haven’t faced before. At least on this kind of scale.'
Firefighters in Florida are dealing with a new problem in the wake of Hurricane Ian's damaging floods - explosive fires caused by waterlogged batteries in electric vehicles. ABOVE: Firefighters in Naples, Florida, handle the aftermath of a fire in a Tesla
'There’s a ton of EVs disabled from Ian. As those batteries corrode, fires start,' Florida's fire marshal and top financial officer David Patronis tweeted Thursday
'It takes special training and understanding of EVs to ensure these fires are put out quickly and safely,' he continued in a follow-up tweet. 'Thanks to [North Collier Fire Rescue] for their hard work.'
It's not clear exactly how many EVs were impacted by the storm's flood waters.
Patronis shared videos of firefighters in Naples, Florida, dealing with a fire that started from a Tesla's battery.
Bystanders can be overheard saying the crew had used hundreds of gallons of water.
'That’s a new challenge that our firefighters haven’t faced before,' Patronis added. 'At least on this kind of scale'
Hurricane Ian inundated several cities along the Sunshine State's west coast when it
