Flooded Electric Vehicles Spontaneously Catch On Fire In Florida After Hurricane

“There’s a ton of EVs disabled from Ian. As those batteries corrode, fires start,” according to Jimmy Patronis, Florida’s top financial officer and fire marshal. 

Patronis tweeted Thursday that after Hurricane Ian made landfall last week and flooded regions of his state, a bunch of electric vehicles (EVs) were caught in floods, batteries were waterlogged, and some spontaneously caught on fire. 

He said, “that’s a new challenge that our firefighters haven’t faced before. At least on this kind of scale.”

“It takes special training and understanding of EVs to ensure these fires are put out quickly and safely,” he continued in another tweet. “Thanks to [North Collier Fire Rescue] for their hard work.”

Patronis tweeted a video of firefighters in Naples spraying thousands of gallons of water on a flooded Tesla EV’s battery as it smolders in the city street. 

There’s a ton of EVs disabled from Ian. As those batteries corrode, fires start. That’s a new challenge that our firefighters haven’t faced before. At least on this kind of scale. #HurricaneIan pic.twitter.com/WsErgA6evO

— Jimmy Patronis (@JimmyPatronis) October 6, 2022

There was no word on how many EVs were disabled or caught on fire due to the widespread flooding last week. But what is becoming apparent is that fire departments in the state are unequipped to handle lithium battery fires. 

Under the Biden administration’s push to electrify road vehicles to allegedly save the planet from man-made carbon emissions, greenies fail to acknowledge the environmental costs of EV mishaps and fires that are associated with it. 

We outlined one year ago that “First Responders Aren’t Prepared For Lithium Fires When Teslas Crash And Uncontrollably Burn.”