A man in Wales suffered “serious, possibly life-changing injuries” after his electric vehicle (EV) burst into flames, according to reports.
The man was driving near the North Wales Expressway when his EV caught on fire without warning. Bystanders immediately rushed to the vehicle to pull the man from the flames.
Officials said that two rapid response vehicles, an emergency ambulance, a helicopter, and the Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service responded to the scene.
The man was eventually transported to a hospital with “serious, possibly life-changing injuries.”
Chief Inspector Alwyn Williams of North Wales Police said fire crews remained at the scene until Tuesday “due to the car involved being an electric vehicle.”
The incident comes as EVs in the U.S. are also reportedly exploding from water damage following Hurricane Ian last month.
Jimmy Patronis, Florida’s top financial officer and fire marshal, said that EV batteries that have been waterlogged after the hurricane are at a high risk of corrosion, which could lead to unexpected fires.
“There’s a ton of EVs disabled from Ian. As those batteries corrode, fires start,” Patronis tweeted. “That’s a new challenge that our firefighters haven’t faced before. At least on this kind of scale.”
Another EV fire… this one from Florida earlier this summer. A Jaguar i-pace was parked in an attached garage when the owner heard "popping" sounds and saw smoke puffing from the car. The car was moved outside before it burst into flames. I guess you can call them "lucky". pic.twitter.com/JUOwthCSb4
— Old Brass (@StoichioGuy) August 2, 2022
Patronis posted a video of firefighters in Naples battling a fire started by a Tesla EV. A bystander is overheard in the video saying that the crew had already used hundreds of gallons of water to put the fire out.
“It takes special training and understanding of EVs to ensure these fires are put out quickly and safely,” he continued.
Democrats have been pushing for the use of EVs as the Biden administration moves forward with its green agenda involving zero-emission cars.
However, critics have called out the White House for giving a “false impression” about EVs, noting that they are expensive and often unreliable.
“[The EV push] is really kind of a con job,” said Myron Ebell, the director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment. “It may be a good deal for some people in some places under some circumstances. But by-and-large right now, it’s not a good deal.”
