An electric vehicle catches fire, the firefighters’ intervention lasts more than four hours

Along the D11, on the outskirts of Pamiers, a light electric vehicle caught fire on the evening of Saturday January 25. The SUV, a 100% electric Porsche Taycan, had already caught fire next to a field when the firefighters arrived, around 10 p.m.

The fire was extinguished with water during an intervention lasting more than four hours. The large capacity battery of this type of vehicle made it difficult for emergency services to turn it off. A succession of short circuits in the electric vehicle maintains the heat and causes it to run away. Manufacturers recommend immersing the block, but this solution is rarely practical: it is often difficult to access and requires specific equipment to immerse it on site.

Burning batteries poses risks due to fumes and gases hazardous to health. Firefighters are equipped with insulating respiratory protection, called Arico (open circuit self-contained breathing apparatus) during interventions.