It often feels like EV fires make major headlines while ICE vehicle fires go under reported despite being order of magnitude more likely and common. Nice to see an ICE vehicle fire actually making media headlines for a change.

  • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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    20 hours ago

    ICE fires get the attention they deserve, the difference between an ICE fire and a BEV fire is in the scale and intensity and the fact that a lithium battery fire is impossible to stop with normal firefighter equipment.

    BEV fires are orders of magnitude more dangerous and lethal.
    Have you ever heard of anyone dying because their ICE car caught fire? This is an issue especially with Tesla, where the manual handles are hidden, preventing people from getting out quickly enough.
    In case of a BEV fire, you only have seconds to exit the car, otherwise you are toast.

    PS:
    Just in case someone thinks I’m making anti BEV propaganda, I own a VW ID.4 which I am very happy with.

      • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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        19 hours ago

        That is not ICE cars but ALL cars. Obviously we already know people die in BEV fires.
        If you die in an ICE car fire, the reason is probably that you crashed and are unconscious.

        I should have been more specific, I meant die in an ICE car fire, as in caught by the fire. While conscious, and the car isn’t crumbled so it should be relatively easy to get out.

        • teft@piefed.social
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          16 hours ago

          Cars crumple when they crash and sometimes the crumpling pins people inside. That’s the whole reason we have the jaws of life. You don’t have to be unconscious to die in a car fire of any type, just unlucky.

          Plenty of people have died in ICE fires.

        • hperrin@lemmy.ca
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          13 hours ago

          I mean, being covered in gasoline that is on fire is generally not an easy thing to survive.

            • hperrin@lemmy.ca
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              7 hours ago

              It literally does. Thousands of times every year. Car crashes can be pretty fucking horrible, man. Fuel spilling out of the tank is fairly common in bad accidents.

        • hperrin@lemmy.ca
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          12 hours ago

          Did you read it?

          As indicated in Figure 13, large truck fires were more likely to begin with the ignition of a tire than other items. Tire ignitions were also more common in bus fires than car fires. The two most common items first ignited among all highway vehicles were (1) electrical wire or cable insulation and (2) a flammable liquid or gas in or from the engine or burner. Incidents where the item first ignited included a flammable liquid or gas were the deadliest. An estimated 50 percent of the civilian deaths occurred in these incidents.

          Turns out, when a big tank of gasoline is set on fire, it’s deadly.

          • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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            9 hours ago

            Turns out, when a big tank of gasoline is set on fire, it’s deadly.

            That has absolutely zero to do with the car which is not a car but a truck being ICE.

            • hperrin@lemmy.ca
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              6 hours ago

              Read carefully.

              …among all highway vehicles…

              That paragraph is about both trucks and cars. The average car has what, a 12 gallon tank of gasoline? That’s an incredible amount of flammable liquid.

              What are you on about that electric cars have to be more dangerous for you? Are you heavily invested in an oil company or something?

        • Asetru@feddit.org
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          14 hours ago

          This is nonsense. Not getting out because of stupid electric door handles is a problem that’s very specific to tesla, not something that is inherently systemic to the electric drive train. It’s a manufacturer issue, not a propulsion issue. Dying in an ICE fire might result from a bunch of reasons, from unconsciousness to being stuck in a crumpled car to doors not opening simply because they’re deformed.

          Battery fires may emit more hazardous fumes but at the same time electric cars are much more unlikely to catch fire. I have never seen statistics that could even remotely suggest battery electric cars are more dangerous - it’s usually quite the opposite.

          • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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            9 hours ago

            that’s very specific to tesla,

            No Tesla is the worst, but many other brands have copied Tesla in the design of fully electronic door handles.
            So much so EU has decided to regulate it, and in China such door handles as the Tesla has are now illegal.

            but at the same time electric cars are much more unlikely to catch fire.

            This is true

            • Asetru@feddit.org
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              8 hours ago

              many other brands have copied Tesla in the design of fully electronic door handles.

              Care to share some examples?

              • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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                8 hours ago

                AFAIK KIA and Xpeng, but you’ll just have to look it up, I don’t remember the brands.
                I Just know that although Tesla is the worst for hiding the manual, they are not entirely alone in this.
                In fact the car I bought is a VW ID.4, and one of the reasons is that the handle although electric can work as manual if the power is out.
                This was specifically demonstrated in several car reviews of the car.

    • dxgsthrr@feddit.ukOP
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      17 hours ago

      I haven’t seen the evidence to suggest that BEV fires are orders of magnitude more dangerous, as you claim. I have seen the evidence to suggest that they are orders of magnitude less likely.

      Yes they burn hotter and are harder to extinguish, but I understand that generally they spread slower and with more warning, allowing greater time for escape (unless you are stuck in a Tesla and haven’t read the manual cover to cover).

      ICE cars are more likely to explode, BEV cars take longer (in general) to become fully engulfed.

      If there is a credible evidence source / study looking at fatalities per fire (which corrects for the stupid door handles) then I’d be very interested to read it.

      • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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        19 hours ago

        I’m from Denmark but no, it’s pretty rare, but in this case it meant it was a relatively minor fix to get the car going again.