Are EVs a Fire Risk?

A relative was recently considering an EV when a neighbor suggested if they did buy an EV not to park it in the garage. Left unsaid was why. Similarly his Fox watching sister said if he did buy an EV he better install a smoke detector in the garage. Again, the reason was never explicitly stated but understood: EVs are fire hazards, at least according to the rightwing blogosphere.

The relative’s daughter has owned a Tesla Model 3 for several years and parks her car in the garage. He asked me, should he be concerned about her safety.

The short answer is no. She’s safe. Her car’s safe.

I asked the relative if they parked their gasoline-powered car in the garage. Yes, they did, he said. Then you have no reason to be concerned about the EV, I explained.

Gasoline-powered cars, or “gassers” as we call them, are filled with explosive gasoline. If you’re not afraid of them, you have no reason to be afraid of an EV. Both types of power trains contain a concentrated source of energy to drive the vehicles: gasoline in one, a battery in the other. Some of either type of car have caught fire, but the chances of any one vehicle catching fire are very small.

We assume a certain degree of risk in driving a car and that risk includes the small chance it might catch fire just sitting in the garage.

When an EV catches fire it makes the news because it’s a case of “Man Bites Dog” story. It’s unexpected so it’s newsworthy.

The oil industry wants people to think that EVs are dangerous so we won’t use them and instead we’ll continue to burn their product. Don’t buy it.

Here are a few articles on the topic of EV fires and vehicle fires in general.