This past week, a Tesla vehicle burst into flames while traveling down a Pennsylvania highway and emitted a large cloud of toxic fumes from its onboard lithium-ion battery for quite some time due to it taking the local firefighters a much longer period of time to put the fire out when compared to a car that utilizes standard combustion engines.
The ordeal took place at roughly 11 A.M. Tuesday morning at the 137-mile marker of Interstate 80, released the Morris Township Volunteer Fire Company #1 in a statement.
Reportedly, the fire kicked off in the wake of the family driving the car and running over a piece of road borne debris that forced the car to catch on fire. No one was injured in the event as the entire family was able to vacate the car rapidly.
“As Engine Tanker 17 and Engine Tanker 19 arrived on scene it was quickly discovered that this was not your typical vehicle fire as crews quickly utilized just over 4,000 gallons of water. In total approximately 12,000 gallons of water was utilized,” read the statement from firefighters. “To give you an idea of the severity, crews can normally extinguish a fully involved vehicle fire with approximately 500 gallons or less.”
“Due to the lithium ion battery on the vehicle, extinguishing this fire would require additional tankers as the vehicle would continue to reignite and burn fierce at times,” the statement went on. “In total it took crews nearly two hours of continually applying water on the vehicle as the battery would begin to reignite and hold high temperatures.”
Pictures of the Tesla highlight that the fire completely gutted the car.
A Tesla caught on fire on I-80 in Clearfield County today. It took two hours of continuous water to put it out, according to Morris Township Fire Company. “This vehicle burnt so hot and long that if it was not for the rims you might not even of know it was a vehicle.” pic.twitter.com/2cX6TEX6y0
— Geoff Rushton (@GeoffRushton) November 16, 2022
The Columbia Volunteer Fire Company was sent out to help the members of the Morris Township Volunteer Fire Company #1 and Grassflat Volunteer Fire Company in their efforts to put the fire out.
The Columbia Volunteer Fire Company explained that a large amount of water was required even once the fire was put out in order to keep the batteries cool enough to not spontaneously reignite.
Historically, Teslas have dealt with a large number of problems over the years which range from knowingly selling cars that sports design flaws that could force the cars to burst into flames to trying to cut corners in order to ensure that the cars had safe braking systems, reported Business Insider. Teslas have also been slammed with accusations of utilizing “faulty suspension” that can induce accidents.
