Quick-Thinking Minn. Police Officer Uses Cruiser to Push Burning Electric Car Away from Gas Pumps
What to know
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A Brooklyn Center police officer used a cruiser to push a burning electric vehicle away from gasoline pumps during a Dec. 30 fire at a gas station, preventing a potential explosion, officials said.
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Firefighters used specialized equipment and a fire blanket to cool and contain the EV battery fire, remaining on scene for about 2½ hours and using roughly 30,000 gallons of water.
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Officials said EV battery fires require significantly more time and water than gasoline vehicle fires, and no injuries were reported in the incident.
An electric vehicle’s battery caught fire next to gasoline pumps in Brooklyn Center, creating a potential disaster that was averted when a police officer used his squad to push the flaming vehicle to a safer location.
The brief flirtation with a large blaze occurred on Dec. 30 at Winner Gas at the intersection of Humboldt and 65th avenues N., the Brooklyn Center Fire Department said.
Firefighters arrived about 10:45 p.m. and saw the burning car parked next to gas pumps while the driver was inside the store, the Fire Department said in a statement.
“A quick-thinking [Brooklyn Center] police officer used their squad to push the vehicle away from the fuel pumps and into the open parking lot,” the Fire Department statement read.
According to the Fire Department:
Firefighters used the “turtle,” a device that was connected to a fire hose and sprayed water from the underside of the fully electric Kia EV6 to cool the battery.
Once the turtle was in place, firefighters covered the car with a tarplike fire blanket to control the vapors and the smoke.
“Typical car fires we extinguish in 10 minutes and use about 500 gallons of water,” the Fire Department statement continued. “Electric vehicle battery fires take more time and lots more water to cool the batteries down.”
In this case, fire personnel were on the scene for about 2½ hours until 1:20 a.m. on Dec. 31 and used about 30,000 gallons of water.
A national auto insurance research organization analyzed data from the National Transportation Safety Board and found that all-electric EVs were involved in about 25 fires for every 100,000 vehicles sold. That compares to roughly 1,530 gas-powered vehicles and 3,475 hybrid vehicles involved in fires for every 100,000 sold.
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