South Korean cities are jam packed with people and many parking garages are underground.
A huge EV fire, which started in a Mercedes Benz, is literally causing the nation of South Korea to evaluate and, perhaps, prevent EV owners, from using the underground parking facilities.
Full story from the Wall Street Journal is at the link above. There is much more than I'm quoting here. But this gives some of the details pertinent to the topic.
A huge EV fire, which started in a Mercedes Benz, is literally causing the nation of South Korea to evaluate and, perhaps, prevent EV owners, from using the underground parking facilities.
Full story from the Wall Street Journal is at the link above. There is much more than I'm quoting here. But this gives some of the details pertinent to the topic.
SEOUL—It took just seconds for an underground South Korean residential parking lot to be engulfed in flames. The culprit: a Mercedes-Benz EQE electric vehicle that hadn’t been charging.
The blaze incinerated dozens of cars nearby, scorched another 100 vehicles and forced hundreds of residents to emergency shelters as the buildings above the parking lot lost power and electricity. Nobody died, but the fire took eight hours to extinguish.
The blaze dominated national news in South Korea. Some organizations are pushing for EVs to be parked outdoors, residents are protesting and lawmakers are proposing new safety measures.
The consternation in South Korea—home to Hyundai Motor, Kia and top battery makers – represents the latest test of faith for an EV industry dogged by safety concerns. Internal-combustion-engine cars are more likely to catch fire than EVs, according to South Korea’s national fire agency. But when EVs do burst into flames, the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries get hotter and the fire takes longer to stamp out.
In recent years, GM recalled tens of thousands of its Chevrolet Bolts in the U.S. over risk of battery fires. Hyundai pulled roughly 80,000 electric SUVs after roughly a dozen caught fire. Last September, a Nissan Leaf ignited while charging in Tennessee, and the fire required more than 45 times the water needed for a gas-powered car to be extinguished. . . .
