I think you are severely overestimating these boxes. With all the heat from the fire I wouldn't be surprised if that was already enough that some batteries went critical.
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stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
All the other accident related fires were able to contain the fire inside the pack and have it vent forwards. So from a fire started from a short inside the battery, I think the boxes are able to do the job.
The only one where it was hard to tell was the one where the car was ripped in half in LA, but even in that example it didn't melt all the aluminum.
AntronX
Member
Those sparks in the video were from an exploding airbag, not from the battery.
Here is the video of gas car burning with the same pop and sparks.
Here is the video of gas car burning with the same pop and sparks.
Some really interesting info here on the approved tactics for fighting EV and hybrid fires.
Tactical Considerations for Extinguishing Fires in Hybrid and Electric Vehicles - YouTube
As others have rightly pointed water can be used, the problem is the quantities. One test using what looked like a Leaf size battery required 2,600 gallons of water, presumably a Tesla requires even more.
I guess in LA they could use fire hydrants, and because the pack had split open, getting water onto the cells was more straightforward.
We won't know until the official report comes out if adequate water supply was a factor in this case, but leaving the car to burn (which they didn't/couldn't do in LA) and keeping water to protect the surrounding area might have been a factor.
Rather than just assume the firefighters didn't know how to deal with EV fires, we should probably give them the benefit of the doubt. (Esp. given the outcome of minimal collateral damage and zero injuries
)
Tactical Considerations for Extinguishing Fires in Hybrid and Electric Vehicles - YouTube
As others have rightly pointed water can be used, the problem is the quantities. One test using what looked like a Leaf size battery required 2,600 gallons of water, presumably a Tesla requires even more.
I guess in LA they could use fire hydrants, and because the pack had split open, getting water onto the cells was more straightforward.
We won't know until the official report comes out if adequate water supply was a factor in this case, but leaving the car to burn (which they didn't/couldn't do in LA) and keeping water to protect the surrounding area might have been a factor.
Rather than just assume the firefighters didn't know how to deal with EV fires, we should probably give them the benefit of the doubt. (Esp. given the outcome of minimal collateral damage and zero injuries
)
Super_Popular
Well-Known Member
AntronX
Member
Here is a loop from the news video. Looks like it originated from location of rear tire. I don't know if tires can pop like that when burning. This could have been side airbag that detached and rolled from it's original location due to aluminum structure melting. To me, the pop sounds too loud to be just from short circuit of supercharger cable. I disagree that this was due to lithium battery. They don't pop like that.
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
There aren't any batteries either, not behind the rear wheels. That seemed to shoot out of the very rear of the vehicle, almost at a 45degree angle. I suppose a cell from the back of the pack could have shot out at that angle, but I'd think it would hit the drivetrain, or come out with more vertical trajectory. Plus I'd expect more than one cell to pop. Not sure we can conclude either way yet.
stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
Right, from the LA accident where it was clear cells were actually on fire, they popped out individually. They did not all just pop at the same time at once.
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Some one pointed out the supercharger cables appeared to still be intact which kind of rules out the fire starting outside the car at the supercharger. Does anyone know if these stalls used the liquid cooled cables or the old version?
The people who say that have a weird definition of "intact". "Not completely burned" is better.
lol, I was going to mention the same thing!
However it's all speculation.
Where the fault occurred, and whatever caused it is a bit moot though. The end result is a molten blob of aluminium in a Norwegian car park where a Tesla should be
Let's leave it to Tesla and/or the fire investigators to determine the cause, and do whatever is necessary to prevent it happening again. TBH that's all we can ask for.
stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
There are airbag inflator cylinders above both of the rear doors. The curtain airbags also goes all the way to the rear window. There are also two gas struts in the back for the hatch. Quick diagram using the picture from the ERG.
https://www.teslamotors.com/sites/default/files/downloads/en_EU/emergency_response_guide.pdf?1512
This is what it looks like when a gas strut explodes in a fire (skip to 1:20), looks pretty similar to the Model S video (the direction is the same too):
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Krugerrand
Meow
Why would they have remained in the car? You see smoke (or smell it), you get out. Don't you? I'm not sure I know anyone who would purposely wait for the flames or for the flames to engulf them before thinking about exiting the vehicle. Previous fires have had the car warn the driver to pull over long before any flames occurred.
