Mercedes-Benz EV Explodes In Parking Garage Sending 23 To Hospital

A Mercedes-Benz EQE that was parked in a parking garage in Incheon, South Korea burst into flames recently with no apparent cause. The vehicle was not charging at the time that it caught fire. The resulting blaze forced an evacuation of the building and sent over 20 people to the hospital due to smoke inhalation.

The fire was caught in its early stages on a CCTV camera inside the garage. It initially looked like white smoke creeping from under the car and gradually flowing around the other vehicles parked on either side of the EQE. The trickle of smoke quickly grew to engulf the vehicle before the explosion. According to Inside EVs, the fire damaged a total of 140 cars in the garage with at least 70 suffering significant damage from the incident.

Electric Vehicle Fires Are A Challenge To Extinguish

Vehicle fires can happen in any vehicle, but when that vehicle is electric, whether a Mercedes or a Tesla Model S, putting it out can be tricky. They burn much hotter than gas vehicles, reaching temperatures of up to 5,000° F compared to 1,500°F for a gas vehicle fire, which makes it hard for firefighters to get close. These fires also take much more water to put out, increasing the amount of time that they burn and the potential for damage to surrounding objects.

Add CarBuzz to your Google News feed.

In this case, the fire was so strong that it impacted the electric grid of both the apartment building where it was located and the entire apartment complex. A total of 103 people were initially evacuated from the building and the fire is now out. There were nearly 500 households without power or water five days after the fire was extinguished.

The Cause Is Still Under Investigation

The cause of the fire is still uncertain and is being investigated. “We are deeply sorry for the incident caused in the resident area and the impacted residents in the apartment building and the vicinity. We take it very seriously and will immediately investigate the vehicle thoroughly in cooperation with authorities to determine the root cause so that the appropriate next steps can be taken accordingly. Until then, please understand that we cannot comment further,” Mercedes-Benz Korea told CarBuzz.

Related

Mercedes’ Most Important Models Are Going Electric Soon

The Three-pointed Star is getting ready to electrify its two best-sellers in an attempt to steal sales from the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y.

There have been high-profile EV fires, notably the Chevy Bolt, but there are no answers as to what happened in this particular EV fire. Mercedes is working to figure out exactly what went wrong. Details about the exact model and batteries involved aren’t yet confirmed, but will likely come out as the investigation continues. It’s also worth noting that the batteries used in Korean models are from a Chinese supplier, while those in US models come from a factory in Germany. Any potential problem may not even apply to US models, but we won’t know until the investigation is complete.