Oct. 13, 2022—Electric vehicle batteries are exploding and catching fire in Florida, according to Fox 2 Detroit.
The wake of Hurricane Ian has caused some EV batteries to become waterlogged as a result of the storm and heavy rainfall. Once waterlogged, these batteries run the risk of becoming corroded, which is what ultimately leads to the fires that local firefighters have been putting out.
Jimmy Patronis is Florida's top financial officer and fire marshal. He revealed in a recent tweet that these battery fires present a unique challenge, as local firefighters have not dealt with them on this scale before. Patronis published another tweet that shouted out the hard work of North Collier Fire Rescue. He also wrote that a attacking these kind of fires safely and effectively requires an understanding of EVs and proper training.
At the time of this writing, there is not an official count on how many EVs were affected by Hurricane Ian.
