Environment & Energy

Caribbeans

(903 posts) Sun Aug 25, 2024, 05:27 PM Aug 25

Electric vehicles catch fire at Rivian's Normal, Illinois plant

Electric vehicles catch fire at Rivian’s Normal plant

25newsnow.com | Mike Smith | Aug. 25, 2024

NORMAL (25News Now) - Normal Fire Department (NPD) crews battled a blaze at the Rivian plant parking lot Saturday night.

NFD spokesperson Matt Swaney said fire crews were called to Rivian’s Normal plant just before 9:45 p.m. for a reported vehicle fire. He said there is an unspecified number of vehicles damaged by the incident.

Witnesses outside the plant said they reportedly saw the fire as early as 9:50 p.m...more
https://www.25newsnow.com/2024/08/25/electric-vehicles-catch-fire-rivians-normal-plant/?outputType=amp

RELATED:

Recently Amazon Delivery Vehicles (Rivian) caught fire too

People need to know that riding around literally sitting on ~70 kWh of stored energy can be extremely dangerous. Of course petrol powered cars catch fire but you usually (almost always) have a few minutes to get away. One rock on the highway can damage the battery slab to the point of ignition. The smoke from a Li-Ion battery is worse too. If you ride in a Battery Car you should know where the emergency exit handles are, because you won't have time to check the manual. We could ask one of these guys in Texas but...

9 replies

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Electric vehicles catch fire at Rivian's Normal, Illinois plant (Original Post) Caribbeans Aug 25 OP

OMG 😟 how horrible. I don't want one. Don't trust them TommieMommy Aug 25 #1

I just drove past that Rivian plant about 45 minutes ago. The parking lot is hundreds of acres and full of sinkingfeeling Aug 25 #2

Whow--that is a huge fire. Brave firefighters for sure. riversedge Aug 25 #3

As to that Tesla, the driver was drunk and speeding according to the NTSB and both died from blunt force trauma Wonder Why Aug 25 #4

Thank goodness gasoline isn't flammable. Think. Again. Aug 25 #5

OMG, people are sitting on about 400 KWh with full 12-gallon tank of gasoline! Yet the OP is scared of the 70. Hermit-The-Prog Aug 27 #7

Gasoline and diesel powered vehicles are 29 times more likely to catch fire than an EV Hermit-The-Prog Aug 27 #6

Thank you for posting that.... Think. Again. Aug 27 #8

It would help if we didn't try to make EVs that fit the most extreme situations Hermit-The-Prog Aug 27 #9

TommieMommy

(607 posts)

1. OMG 😟 how horrible. I don't want one. Don't trust them

Reply to Caribbeans (Original post)

Sun Aug 25, 2024, 05:40 PM

Aug 25

sinkingfeeling

(52,577 posts)

2. I just drove past that Rivian plant about 45 minutes ago. The parking lot is hundreds of acres and full of

Reply to Caribbeans (Original post)

Sun Aug 25, 2024, 05:40 PM

Aug 25

Amazon vans. Most of their pickups and SUVs are parked out at the State Farm campus. It is the largest manufacturing plant I've ever seen. It's around 3 miles from where I now live, but I didn't see any lingering smoke or anything.

riversedge

(71,971 posts)

3. Whow--that is a huge fire. Brave firefighters for sure.

Reply to Caribbeans (Original post)

Sun Aug 25, 2024, 05:42 PM

Aug 25

Wonder Why

(4,281 posts)

4. As to that Tesla, the driver was drunk and speeding according to the NTSB and both died from blunt force trauma

Reply to Caribbeans (Original post)

Sun Aug 25, 2024, 05:49 PM

Aug 25

and burns.

IMHO, Likely, they couldn't get out because they were too drunk and the driver had taken 2 OTC sedating antihistamine medications. The idiot only drove 550 feet from the driveway to the crash.

Here's the NTSB info.

https://montgomerycountypolicereporter.com/ntsb-determines-woodlands-tesla-crash-that-killed-two-was-not-driverless/]

Think. Again.

(15,409 posts)

5. Thank goodness gasoline isn't flammable.

Reply to Caribbeans (Original post)

Sun Aug 25, 2024, 06:31 PM

Aug 25

Oh, wait,...

Hermit-The-Prog

(36,144 posts)

7. OMG, people are sitting on about 400 KWh with full 12-gallon tank of gasoline! Yet the OP is scared of the 70.

Reply to Think. Again. (Reply #5)

Tue Aug 27, 2024, 07:25 PM

Aug 27

Hermit-The-Prog

(36,144 posts)

6. Gasoline and diesel powered vehicles are 29 times more likely to catch fire than an EV

Reply to Caribbeans (Original post)

Tue Aug 27, 2024, 07:23 PM

Aug 27

https://www.motortrend.com/features/you-are-wrong-about-ev-fires/

Combustion-Powered Vehicles Are 29 Times More Likely To Catch Fire

According to MSB data, there are nearly 611,000 EVs and hybrids in Sweden as of 2022. With an average of 16 EV and hybrid fires per year, there's a 1 in 38,000 chance of fire. There are a total of roughly 4.4 million gas- and diesel-powered passenger vehicles in Sweden, with an average of 3,384 fires per year, for a 1 in 1,300 chance of fire. That means gas- and diesel-powered passenger vehicles are 29 times more likely to catch fire than EVs and hybrids.

Think. Again.

(15,409 posts)

8. Thank you for posting that....

Reply to Hermit-The-Prog (Reply #6)

Tue Aug 27, 2024, 07:31 PM

Aug 27

The bottom line is we DON'T HAVE A CHOICE between EVs or ICEs, we simply have to transition away from burning fossil fuels with whatever we have to do that with, as soon as humanly possible.

It isn't a matter of choice, it's a matter of life or death, literally.

Hermit-The-Prog

(36,144 posts)

9. It would help if we didn't try to make EVs that fit the most extreme situations

Reply to Think. Again. (Reply #8)

Tue Aug 27, 2024, 07:55 PM

Aug 27

I don't need one that will haul 5 or six people, all their luggage, and travel 400 miles between charges. Most people don't. Even conversion vehicles using old flooded lead-acid batteries have been capable of handling over 80% of commutes since the '60s.

Check this list:
"Here's Every New Electric Vehicle Model for Sale in the U.S. for 2024"
https://www.caranddriver.com/features/g32463239/new-ev-models-us/

Most look like gasoline-powered cars that have had the engine replaced. It's like the engineers (or marketing departments) never heard of wind resistance. Strangely, the cheapest ones look the most like they were designed from scratch for electric power.

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