Spontaneous fire

[Aza]

The thing about “news” is it is the exception that makes headlines. Once it is common place you don’t hear about it anymore.

Everyone should be aware by now that ICE cars have more fires than EVs but no one is reporting about them and saying I‘m wondering if I should park my car in my garage.
This fire for example wasn’t with the battery and as such is no different than what would happen with a ICE car.

There is a reason that the building codes have firewalls between garages and the rest of the house, but the average person just doesn’t think about it.

That’s true! Every car fire posted on social media has EV haters always assuming it is an EV and 9 out of 10 times, it’s not.

Sponsored

 

[Mach1E]

The thing about “news” is it is the exception that makes headlines. Once it is common place you don’t hear about it anymore.

Everyone should be aware by now that ICE cars have more fires than EVs but no one is reporting about them and saying I‘m wondering if I should park my car in my garage.
This fire for example wasn’t with the battery and as such is no different than what would happen with a ICE car.

There is a reason that the building codes have firewalls between garages and the rest of the house, but the average person just doesn’t think about it.

Yes and no.

One thing that makes things “newsworthy” is the intensity of the experience.

ICE fires aren’t as newsworthy because they’re not a big deal (typically).

ICE car fires typically don’t….
take hours to put out.
Set an entire dealership on fire
Set and entire ship on fire
Spontaneously happen in a saltwater flood
Continue to burn under ocean water

And those are just a few recent “newsworthy” stories that come to mind.

And yes, I clicked on each one of those stories because they’re interesting. Not much different than when someone gets eaten by a shark.

That said, we actually have no clue if EVs or ICEs are more likely to catch fire (very little real data out there).

But we do know it’s a bigger deal if an EV does because of how hard they are to put out. Just ask any firefighter.

 

[ChrisO]

Yes and no.

One thing that makes things “newsworthy” is the intensity of the experience.

ICE fires aren’t as newsworthy because they’re not a big deal (typically).

ICE car fires typically don’t….
take hours to put out.
Set an entire dealership on fire
Set and entire ship on fire
Spontaneously happen in a saltwater flood
Continue to burn under ocean water

And those are just a few recent “newsworthy” stories that come to mind.

And yes, I clicked on each one of those stories because they’re interesting. Not much different than when someone gets eaten by a shark.

That said, we actually have no clue if EVs or ICEs are more likely to catch fire (very little real data out there).

But we do know it’s a bigger deal if an EV does because of how hard they are to put out. Just ask any firefighter.

I disagree on why the EV fires are “news worthy“.

As @Aza pointed out ICE cars have fires are being reported as EV fires because some people want to frighten the public or just pure bad assumptions. And this fire shouldn’t be “news worthy” given your criteria, it didn’t include the battery and was easily put out.

If I give people the benefit of the doubt then I would say that most of this reporting is because EVs are relatively new.

 

[Mach1E]

I disagree on why the EV fires are “news worthy“.

As @Aza pointed out ICE cars have fires are being reported as EV fires because some people want to frighten the public or just pure bad assumptions. And this fire shouldn’t be “news worthy” given your criteria, it didn’t include the battery and was easily put out.

If I give people the benefit of the doubt then I would say that most of this reporting is because EVs are relatively new.

You’re assuming motives that may or may not exist.

Yes, there are some publications that try to present specific narratives and post stories or change headlines to fit that narrative.

But at the end of the day news organizations are nothing more than fluff to sell advertising.

And which “fluff” do they pick? The ones people are more likely to click and read/watch.

It’s as simple as that.

They’re more likely to broadcast a story about a plane crash than a car crash, not because there is some “anti-plane bias in news media” nor because plane travel is more dangerous (it’s not).

It’s because viewers are more likely to look at a news story about a plane crash. And more viewers = more ad dollars.

I wish “news stories” had the disclaimer “for entertainment purposes only” because that’s basically what they have become.

And I actually spent years selling advertising for a local newspaper.

EVs aren’t exactly “new” anymore nor are stories about their fires. But much like a plane crash……… people find them interesting.

 

[ChrisO]

I agree. At the end of the day it is up to the individual to separate out what is truly important to them.

 

[DYohn]

EV fires are more newsworthy because they are still a small percentage of the automobile population and there are a lot of people out there who are anti-EV, for whatever reasons. So when something "happens" with an EV, it lets all the haters say, "See? I told you they are crap!" and it sells clicks online.

 

[Mach1E]

EV fires are more newsworthy because they are still a small percentage of the automobile population and there are a lot of people out there who are anti-EV, for whatever reasons. So when something "happens" with an EV, it lets all the haters say, "See? I told you they are crap!" and it sells clicks online.

It doesn’t matter why people click on the EV fire stories. Some sure are anti-EV, some are pro-EV and curious as to what happened and others aren’t either and just find the stories interesting.

And all those clicks just tell the news algorithms to pump out more similar stories.

You don’t have to hate EVs to want to click on a story like this:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/25/us/alaska-cargo-ship-vehicles-sinks-pacific.html

or
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/24/us/morning-midas-ship-sinks-northern-pacific

And those aren’t exactly “anti-EV” media outlets.

That said, I kinda hate all the “anti-whatever” labels recently. People just want to throw away any discussion by labeling the opposition without having a normal discussion.

There is a large gap between the anti-EV people who would “never buy one” and the people who think “no one should buy them” and then those who think “we shouldn’t force people to buy them.”

Those are very different opinions yet all seem to be lumped together.

And you can even OWN an EV and be pro-EV but still recognize the downsides and dangers.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

The Mach E owner lives in Iowa and it happened yesterday

Well there goes my theory then - it wasn't especially hot in Iowa yesterday...

 

[Mach1E]

Well there goes my theory then - it wasn't especially hot in Iowa yesterday...

I don’t think anyone in Arizona was hoping your theory held.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

I don’t think anyone in Arizona was hoping your theory held.

Indeed, though to be clear I wasn't thinking that AZ heat alone would car to burst into flames, but rather heat buildup plus pre-existing wire damage, e.g., from rodents.

But honestly I'm liking the idea of something else in the car catching fire such as vaping materials or maybe a lithium ion battery pack. E.g., Anker just issued a second recall for several of their battery packs...

 

[DYohn]

I don’t think anyone in Arizona was hoping your theory held.

This owner in Arizona can confirm it most certainly does not.

 

[cswebster]

Don’t appear to be anything HV that caused it, there ain’t HV above “normal door handle” height.

Looks like it started outside the passenger compartment under bonnet, towards rear in/around plenum chamber.

Fire burned up and out from there, back through windscreen into cabin.

So, looks like the normal sort of cause that can befall any car ICE or EV.

As a fire fighter who has seen a bunch of car fires, I would agree.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Just ask any firefighter

I have. My neighbor is the #2 in the fire department here. His comment about EV fires is that they’re not hard to put out, they just take time and lots of water. There has been 1 EV fire on island in the past 4 years, and none in the past 3 years.

 

[Mach1E]

I have. My neighbor is the #2 in the fire department here. His comment about EV fires is that they’re not hard to put out, they just take time and lots of water. There has been 1 EV fire on island in the past 4 years, and none in the past 3 years.

That’s seems like an understatement. Especially when compared to other car fires.

ICE fires and a fire truck puts them out in seconds, even major ones.



From what I understand about EVs, the water isn’t to put the fire out (you can’t) it’s to cool the battery off to reduce the runaway chemical reaction because it creates its own oxygen.

It’s how a Tesla can stay on fire under water:
https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/the-ocean-can’t-put-a-battery-fire-out.30935/

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

That’s seems like an understatement. Especially when compared to other car fires.

ICE fires and a fire truck puts them out in seconds, even major ones.



From what I understand about EVs, the water isn’t to put the fire out (you can’t) it’s to cool the battery off to reduce the runaway chemical reaction because it creates its own oxygen.

It’s how a Tesla can stay on fire under water:
https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/the-ocean-can’t-put-a-battery-fire-out.30935/

I'm just relaying what the person responsible for such things said. ICE fires are common here. The last one (6 months ago perhaps) nearest our place set off a 300-acre fire. The last ICE fire i recall being reported by the county civil defense agency was 3 days ago, and it closed one of two highways running along the west side for several hours. Car fires are not a good thing.

Sponsored