Firefighters dug a pit and used thousands of gallons of water to put out a fire when a Tesla Model S burst into flames at a scrapyard in Rancho Cordova, east of the California capital of Sacramento.
After a crash, the car had been in the wrecking yard for three weeks. The Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District said the vehicle was on fire when firefighters arrived at the scene.
The battery of the car would restart the fire every time the fire crew tried to put out the blaze.
The agency posted videos of the fire on social media, noting that the vehicle would once again catch fire due to the residual heat. The firefighters used a tractor to dig a pit close by and move the vehicle into the pit and fill it with water, submerging the battery compartment. A total of 4,500 gallons of water was used over the course of more than an hour. A similar amount of water is usually used for building fires.
Captain Parker Wilbourn, a spokesman for the Fire Department, told The Washington Post that the car had reached a temperature of more than 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit 1,649 C. Capt Wilbourn, the agency hasn't figured out why the car spontaneously caught fire, adding that it was the first time that the Sacramento County department had put out a Tesla fire.
The spokesman told the paper that they are preparing to put out more fires connected to electric vehicles as more and more EV owners install chargers in their garages.
This is a whole new animal for the fire service, Capt Wilbourn told The Post. We're still trying to wrap our heads around the electric vehicle fires. The fire is similar to that of other electric vehicle fires. In December 2020, a home fire in San Ramon, California was started when two Teslas caught fire in the garage, The Post reported.
One of the vehicles was charging when it was engulfed in flames and the blaze spread to the second Tesla. At least six fire trucks were needed to put out the garage fire.
Chevrolet, Audi, and Hyundai have recalled electric vehicles because of the fire risk.
A first responder guide to the Tesla Model S states that between 3,000 and 8,000 gallons of water could be needed to put out a fire, with the water having to be applied directly directly to the battery. Capt Wilbourn said that between 20,000 and 30,000 gallons of water could be needed for battery fires.
The lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles burn until all the energy is spent inside.
The Sacramento fire department said that putting the car in a pit filled with water limited the amount of water needed.
The Independent reached out to Tesla for comment.