Do you really want to purchase a BEV?

Recently, someone taking fire training classes told us that the current instruction for if you have a BEV (battery electric vehicle) fire is that you bury the vehicle. 

At a local store we heard emergency vehicles on the main road.  First there came the fire truck.  Next, following the fire truck was a new truck that appeared to be a water tanker truck to provide even more water.  Then. surprisingly, following the water tanker was a red truck pulling a backhoe.  To what kind of fire do you think they were going?  They were going to a fire that required extra water, and backhoe to dig a hole and bury something.  I just bet they were traveling to a BEV fire.

An L.A. Times article stated that a 2025 Tesla Model Y swerved to the right, collided with a traffic pole, and caught fire.  The driver was trapped inside.  Officers tried to save the driver, but “due to the intensity of the flames and heat, they were unable to rescue the occupant,” according to the police department.  The fight to put out the fire was deemed further complicated by “challenges associate with the vehicle’s lithium-ion batteries,” according to officials.  The trapped driver burned alive and was pronounced dead at the scene.

In Canada five young friends inside a Tesla Model Y became trapped when they were in a crash.  When the BEV lost power the car’s electronic door handles were disabled.  A postal worker, seeing the crash, realizing a young lady inside the car was frantically trying to get out, decided to break the window with a metal pole and help the young woman out of the car.  This postal worker said the smoke from the fire was so thick he was unaware there were other occupants still trapped inside, who all died in the flames. 

Another incident involving a Tesla Model Y, the vehicle suddenly just shut down and lost all electrical power.  Again, the driver was trapped inside as the loss of power caused the electric doors and windows to fail to function.  As smoke began pouring through the vehicle’s vents, the driver was able to kick out the window, climb out, and call 911.  By the time the fire department arrived, the vehicle was completely consumed in flames.

Critics of the Tesla vehicles point out that the electronic door handles have a design flaw.  Tesla pointed out a not well-publicized manual release for the doors in case of emergency.  This release involves removing an interior panel and pulling a cable, but crash victims might not be able to locate such a panel if they are injured, panicked, fighting thick smoke, or burning. 

Besides the fire issue and failure of doors and windows to open with loss of power, as of November 2024 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had nine open investigations into the Tesla Model Y for various issues ranging from braking to unintended acceleration.

Then there is the problem with disposal after a fire.  “Highly combustible lithium-ion batteries used in electric and hybrid vehicles are complicating cleanup efforts in the Los Angeles neighborhoods ravaged wildfire damage,” according to Fox News.  “The EPA warned that batteries should be considered ‘extremely dangerous’ even if they are believed to be intact, and ‘can spontaneously re-ignite, explode, and emit toxic gases and particulate even after the fire is out.’” It is estimated that the Palisades and Eaton fires will require the “largest lithium-ion battery pickup, cleanup, that’s ever happened in the history of the world,” according to EPA incident commander Steve Calanog.  Fox News reports, “Authorities are warning that residual heat poses danger for days, weeks and even months after the initial fires, potentially causing lithium-ion batteries to spontaneously combust.”

The National Transportation Safety Board’s 2020 Safety Report concerning “Safety Risks to Emergency Responders from Lithium-ion Battery Fires in Electric Vehicles” lists the details of numerous incidents involving BEVs.  In one flaming accident involving a Tesla model X SUV, firefighters extinguished the fire in only about a minute using 200 gallons of water.  Afterwards, they noticed electrical arcing with popping sounds. After manufacturer engineers were called, the vehicle was put on a flatbed truck, on wood, so it could not conduct electricity.    The wrecker, fire truck and engineers traveled together to the salvage storage location where a 50-foot radius was required to be left around the vehicle.  After about 20 minutes popping sounds were heard again, and the fire truck was dispatched again.  Not observing a fire, they left, only to return 20 minutes later when the battery ignited.  The fire truck arrived, but the fire went out by itself.  Five days later, again, the vehicle burst into flames.  The fire truck emptied its 500-gallon water tank and then used 600-700 gallons more water after hooking to a hydrant. In all it took about 1,400 gallons of water to completely extinguish the fires from this one crash.

On a more positive note, BEV owners have used their vehicle to power their homes when power is out due to storms.  When Hurricane Helene knocked out power in Charlotte, N.C. one resident ran an extension cord from the back of his $50-87,000 Ford F-150 Lightning and used the truck’s battery to keep his refrigerator and freezer running and power two refrigerators in a neighbor’s home.  A vet clinic used an electric F-150 to keep its medicines cold and continue seeing patients.  A $80-100,000 Tesla Cybertruck owner used his car to power his home after his neighborhood lost power.  The Ford Charge Station Pro that connects the all-electric F-150 to a home’s electricity system costs about $1,300.

I like Elon Musk, and we even have Dark MAGA hats like his, but with all the problems of lithium-ion battery fires, we’ll just keep our gas generator.  Compared to the threat of a lithium-ion battery fire, we prefer the noise.

BEVs still need some work.