Fire hazard! – Blog

I forgot one thing. I live in a flat and you don’t do that alone. The conversation with fellow residents quickly turned to the current discussion about the fire hazard of electric cars. In fact; I raised the issue myself, although in our complex with mainly older residents, everyone now still runs on petrol. There is a lot to do about it and that concerns us too, because we will also drive electric in the longer term, whether we like it or not.

Are plug-in cars so dangerous? There is a lot of algorithmically fueled scaremongering involved, in my impression, the tried and tested weapon of the adversaries. The recall of more than 70,000 Chevrolet Bolts in the US, or last March here for 6,000 electric Hyundais, is grist to the mill of climate skeptics, while the number of incidents was minimal. More serious was the Checkout item last year about the risks of burning EVs in parking garages. The subject led a broadcast specialist to apocalyptic predictions. “Many people will die here if the government does not intervene.” Come on, you think. But as annoying as I find it, the concerns are real.

Because it shouldn’t happen to you. Here in Groningen, after a charging session, a brand new Volkswagen ID3 was put into use. That was still out in the open. It gets scary in parking garages. Statistically, the risk is said to be low, but it doesn’t matter how great it is. The question is what will happen if it does. Well, that doesn’t make you happy.

Then in my case, right under my house, and therefore also that of others, an electric car is on fire. It must be lifted by the fire brigade and placed in a plunge pool for at least 24 hours, because the chemical reactions in the battery pack make a fire as persistent as a peat fire. Towing is not possible, you do not drive a tow truck into my garage. If the fire brigade can reach it at all due to the extreme heat development of a lithium fire in a closed space.

Now I could tell my fellow residents that we are all guilty of risky charging practices under the same roof, from smartphones to bicycle batteries. I could argue that there are thirteen rolling petrol bombs in the basement here, which nobody cares about. On the other hand: you can extinguish it like that. Then there is the question of guilt. Depending on the cause, this lies formally with the car manufacturer or the supplier of the wallbox, you might say. But what if the lawyer of a counterparty held me jointly responsible for the damage due to insider knowledge, because I was demonstrably aware of the risks?

So I drew a line. While my roommates can’t formally stop me from electrifying indoors at any cost, I’m not going to put EVs in my private garage. Electric test cars remain outside and I have postponed the wallbox. I do this in my own interest and that of others. There are currently enough charging stations in the area, otherwise I can always request a new one via the municipality of Groningen. A kilometer away I can go to the fantastic fast chargers from Shell Recharge and the nearest Fastned charging point is five kilometers away. I’ll be fine. Grinding your teeth, that’s true. It could have been so beautiful.

But I see a problem looming for residents of apartment complexes. Do you still put your EV in the public parking basement if you know what could happen, even though the chance is immeasurably small? Now everything is considered dangerous in this life, from shaking hands and driving classics to unprotected sex, drinking and smoking. But I fully understand concerned Homeowners’ Associations.