A Model S caught fire while supercharging in Norway (link in Norwegian)

[bonnie]

After seeing that picture I couldn't morally leave any aged person inside a car while supercharging. That is until we find out what happened. You would have no worries?

I am an aged person & I'd take a nap in a heartbeat while charging. You're willing to drive around with flammable liquid?

 

[ohmman]

Humans are notoriously bad at risk assessment. How much more likely is the car to get totaled en route to the Supercharger than at the Supercharger? Then, how much more likely are you to be in the vehicle during the event en route to the Supercharger compared to being at the Supercharger? Next, how much more likely are you to be able to escape injury at each of those locations?

We don't know the cause of this fire, but obviously the risk is quite low, given the limited number of events. It's beyond premature to discuss what kind of changes we should make at this point.

I frequently quote this: "If it's in the news, don't worry about it." --Bruce Schneier (Virginia Tech)

The idea being that only somewhat rare events make the news. The real risks are buried in our everyday activities.

 

[Caligula]

After seeing that picture I couldn't morally leave any aged person inside a car while supercharging. That is until we find out what happened. You would have no worries?

Interesting game. Now what does this picture do for you?

 

[Electroman]

you know, to kind of point out the obvious, this kinda is a HUGE REMINDER not to leave your kids in the back seat of your MS even for quick errands or a quick trip to the bathroom while supercharging.

Oh my!. The dramatization and fear mongering is unwarranted, and that too from a long time 'senior' member of TMC, who has probably supercharged dozens of times. Do you ask your passengers to get out when you pump gas?

The fire department let the Model S burn down, because they thought that is better than dousing it with water. My guess is this would have been one slow fire that took its time to spread around.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

Dick Van Dyke survived this one:

 

[bonnie]

 

[EVenthusiast]

One of the big things that concerns me about the X in the event of a fire or an accident that disables the falcon doors (say, 12V system failure due to serious front impact damage) how do you exit? According to the First Responder's guide, the method if power is lost is to remove the speaker grills and pull the manual release cable. How would a passenger know to do this? It's worse if a fire is involved. I don't like that. At least on the S the door release cable is easy to pull without the speaker grill.

Also, I'm wondering if the doors automatically unlatch in the case of an accident (I would guess they do, but I don't see anything in the guide that says they do.)

https://www.teslamotors.com/sites/default/files/pdfs/2016_Model_X_Emergency_Response_Guide.pdf?1512

(page 25)

It's up to the driver to read the manual, and share this knowledge with other passengers.

Do most car owners read the manual? No, and it's why we read about sad situations such as that corvette owner drowning in his own vehicle because he wasn't aware of the manual door release.

Would love to see a poll showing how many Model S owners are aware of the manual 2nd row door release mechanism, and how many have told their kids about it.

 

[dhanson865]

After seeing that picture I couldn't morally leave any aged person inside a car while supercharging. That is until we find out what happened. You would have no worries?

If you feel your Tesla is unsafe I'll happily trade you a Toyota Prius or Nissan Leaf for your Tesla anything. I'll even toss in some cash to cover transport and registrations and such. Surely if the Tesla is unsafe you'll be willing to trade it cheaply so I'll be able to afford it right?

 

[JohnSnowNW]

Happened today, be on the look out for these combustible vehicles:

I-40 reopens after truck fire near Southpoint mall :: WRAL.com

 

[Krugerrand]

Interesting game. Now what does this picture do for you?

Reminded me I have laundry in the washer.

 

[Eclectic]

After seeing that picture I couldn't morally leave any aged person inside a car while supercharging. That is until we find out what happened. You would have no worries?

Of all the potential problems with Tesla ownership, this is really low on the list for me. I would imagine that any fire from supercharging would take a bit of time to threaten passengers, giving them ample time to exit the car before harm arrives. Unless, of course, someone filled the cabin with "limey cement"....

 

[S'toon]

I've witnessed two ICE car fires myself. <shrug>

 

[ecarfan]

After seeing that picture I couldn't morally leave any aged person inside a car while supercharging. That is until we find out what happened. You would have no worries?

You appear to be serious. So am I: the odds of anyone being injured while fueling at a gas station are far higher than injury while Supercharging. As far as we know, no one has ever suffered an injury while Supercharging or while at a Supercharger (and I am certain that in the past 3 years the Supercharger network has been used literally hundreds of thousands of times to charge a Tesla), but car fires at gas stations occur regularly as shown by the posted videos (and there are many more online than that).
Many people have exaggerated fears of new things but blithely accept significant risks from activities they grew up with.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

As for me I'm going to wait to get more factual information. Heck for all we know he/she could have been transporting a hoverboard.

If my garage burned down I wouldn't know if it was my Pedal Assist Electric Bike, one of the three Electric Longboards, the Tesla, or the HPWC. I have so much stuff in there I'm seriously considering building a thermal panning camera that will alert me if temp's go above a certain level.

And sometimes I have those things in my Tesla.

With that being said I am a bit concerned about the ability for a person to escape a Tesla that has an electrical related issue. Is there a way I can test escaping a Tesla in this situation? My understanding is that the rear doors have an emergency latch, but it's under the carpet mat.

 

[stopcrazypp]

You can start a gas station fire even just from static electricity (which is why I always touch the car body first before handling the nozzle). I feel a lot safer plugging in an EV instead.

Side note: it is a bad idea to pull out the nozzle when a fuel fire happens, although luckily she was able to release the lever to stop the pump before doing so in this case.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

 

[Iowa92x]

Why didn't the tires burn, if a battery fire would burn low to high.

 

[bonnie]

If we'd all grown up driving electric, we'd be horrified today by these stories of flammable liquid that so easily catches fire, never mind the toxic fumes being spewed into the air.

 

[ohmman]

Not to mention the dangers of trying to kill spiders at gas stations...

 

[bonnie]

Now I'm starting to almost feel a moral need (in the words of fellow forum members) to stand outside fueling stations holding a large sign warning my fellow citizens of the impending danger about to befall them.

'Almost' being the key word. Mostly because I'm aging.