So. A lot. Water.Semi SautéedAn investigation by means of the Nationwide Transportation Protection Board finds that the hearth that gobbled a Tesla Semi after it crashed closing month became out to be means worse than we first concept.The Related Press experiences that California firefighters had to make use of a staggering 50,000 gallons of water to place out the flaming battery on the middle of the wreckage, which burned at temperatures as top as 1,000 levels Fahrenheit.For reference, your moderate, big-duty hearth truck in america — an Engine 1, in professional firefighting terminology — generally carries 500 gallons of water. The entire 50,000 gallons used this is the quantity that the typical American circle of relatives of 4 would eat in about 5 months, in line with Environmental Coverage Company estimates.The ferocity of the blaze illustrates the unconventional demanding situations fascinated with preventing lithium-ion battery fires when electrical cars combust — and as such, the profound stumbling blocks to a sustainable EV trucking infrastructure.Cash to BurnAccording to the NTSB investigation, the crash happened on August 19 at round 3 am, when the Tesla Semi, pushed by means of an worker of the automaker, veered off the highway whilst rounding a curve. Then it plowed via a tree, barreled down a slope, ahead of in spite of everything coming to a prevent towards extra timber on the backside.Fortunately, the motive force made it out unhurt. However quickly after, the Tesla Semi’s battery ignited, ensuing within the hearth that required emergency responders to near the highway for 15 hours as they endeavored to place it out.At the side of the 50,000 gallons of water that was once sprayed at the burning wreckage, firefighters additionally needed to unload hearth retardant at the scene from an airplane. Understand that, it feels like this was once a surprisingly dear hearth to place out, particularly for person who originated from a unmarried automobile.What led to the battery to ignite, alternatively, stays undetermined because the investigation continues.Fireplace HazardTeslas and different EVs have time and again made headlines for bursting into flames. There is not any exhausting proof that their lithium ion batteries lead to fires to any extent further than typical vehicles do, however then again, there is additionally no denying that after they do combust, their fires are way more ambitious.Firefighters responding to such incidents previously have mentioned that Tesla and different EV fires require 40 instances the quantity of water that common vehicles do — and that is the reason simply with passenger vehicles. This incident presentations the type of inferno unleashed by means of the behemoth of a battery powering a full-blown Tesla Semi, which reportedly weighs round 11,000 kilos.As Jalopnik notes, US firefighters nonetheless do not have a standardized manner for preventing EV fires. Roughly, all emergency responders can do is spray water and watch for the hearth to burn itself out — which is able to take hours, since the batteries proceed to liberate oxygen as they burn.Extra on Tesla: Employees Coaching Tesla’s Autopilot Say They Have been Informed to Forget about Street Indicators to Keep away from Making Automobiles Force Like a “Robotic”
