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Fire brigade in Groningen extinguishing a burning electric VW
Photo: 112groningen.nl
After reports of burning electric cars, the German Fire Brigade Association is demanding more support from the car companies.
"The manufacturers have not yet adequately met their responsibility for electric cars and the associated risks after a fire," says Peter Bachmeier, chairman of the specialist committee for preventive fire and hazard protection of the German fire services to SPIEGEL.
It is true that the fire risk of an electric vehicle is no higher than that of a gasoline engine. However, extinguishing a burning battery is often more complicated and tedious. "A normal car is extinguished in fifteen minutes and needs 500 liters of water for it," says Bachmeier, "on the other hand, the fire brigade is often two to three hours busy with electric cars and needs 10,000 liters of water." After that, the vehicle must be observed for 72 hours to prevent the battery from catching fire again. That could not be the job of the public fire brigade, said Bachmeier.
Instead, the manufacturers are asked: in the event of a fire, they should send specialists, as is customary in the chemical industry, and transport the vehicle away later.
In individual federal states such as Bavaria, towing companies take responsibility for the deleted car, but according to Bachmeier there is no nationwide regulation.
He also demands that the corporations be willing to bear the costs of expensive special equipment for the towing companies.
According to information from the industry, an average of 40 cars burn in Germany every day, most of which are petrol or diesel.
With the increasing number of e-cars, however, reports of burning electric cars have recently increased.
In mid-August, an electric VW ID.3 caught fire in Groningen, the Netherlands, but the cause has not yet been clarified.
Last week, the US manufacturer General Motors expanded its recall program for the Chevrolet Bolt electric car to a total of 142,000 vehicles.
Defects in individual battery cells, so the reasoning, could lead to short circuits and fires.
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