Fire crews are calling for innovative solutions to extinguish lithium-ion battery fires after it took 6,000 gallons of water to put out Tesla in flames on a Sacramento County highway.
Teslas and other electric vehicles (EVs) are powered by lithium-ion batteries, and firefighters have only two options when responding, let the flames burn out or drown the car in water, which could still take several hours.
Fire crews say it’s time for a new solution. A Metro Fire crew used 6,000 gallons of water this weekend putting out one Tesla that caught fire, and a firefighter from the department says you can’t just put out an EV fire as you do with a vehicle that uses traditional fuel.
What ends up happening is you have a process that is called thermal runaway, when one of about 8,000 cells overheats and spills its contents and can ignite a fire that spreads to the whole battery component, Capt. Daniel Hoy told FOX40 News.