Key Takeaways
A Mercedes-Benz EQE that was parked in a parking storage in Incheon, South Korea burst into flames just lately with no obvious trigger. The automobile was not charging on the time that it caught hearth. The ensuing blaze pressured an evacuation of the constructing and despatched over 20 folks to the hospital as a result of smoke inhalation.
The hearth was caught in its early levels on a CCTV digicam contained in the storage. It initially regarded like white smoke creeping from beneath the automobile and step by step flowing across the different autos parked on both facet of the EQE. The trickle of smoke rapidly grew to engulf the automobile earlier than the explosion. In keeping with Inside EVs, the hearth broken a complete of 140 vehicles within the storage with at the least 70 struggling vital injury from the incident.
Electrical Car Fires Are A Problem To Extinguish
Car fires can occur in any automobile, however when that automobile is electrical, whether or not a Mercedes or a Tesla Mannequin S, placing it out will be tough. They burn a lot hotter than fuel autos, reaching temperatures of as much as 5,000° F in comparison with 1,500°F for a fuel automobile hearth, which makes it arduous for firefighters to get shut. These fires additionally take way more water to place out, growing the period of time that they burn and the potential for injury to surrounding objects.
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On this case, the hearth was so robust that it impacted the electrical grid of each the condominium constructing the place it was situated and all the condominium advanced. A complete of 103 folks have been initially evacuated from the constructing and the hearth is now out. There have been almost 500 households with out energy or water 5 days after the hearth was extinguished.
The Trigger Is Nonetheless Underneath Investigation
The reason for the hearth continues to be unsure and is being investigated. “We’re deeply sorry for the incident precipitated within the resident space and the impacted residents within the condominium constructing and the neighborhood. We take it very significantly and can instantly examine the automobile totally in cooperation with authorities to find out the basis trigger in order that the suitable subsequent steps will be taken accordingly. Till then, please perceive that we can’t remark additional,” Mercedes-Benz Korea instructed CarBuzz.
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There have been high-profile EV fires, notably the Chevy Bolt, however there aren’t any solutions as to what occurred on this specific EV hearth. Mercedes is working to determine precisely what went flawed. Particulars concerning the precise mannequin and batteries concerned aren’t but confirmed, however will probably come out because the investigation continues. It is also value noting that the batteries utilized in Korean fashions are from a Chinese language provider, whereas these in US fashions come from a manufacturing facility in Germany. Any potential downside might not even apply to US fashions, however we can’t know till the investigation is full.
