Fire service warning as electric car goes up in flames

An electric vehicle has been decimated by fire in Melbourne’s east, with fire crews warning about the dangers of not using official manufacturer charging equipment.

Credit: Fire Rescue Victoria

An electric car has caught fire in Melbourne – destroying the garage of the home where it was parked – with crews finding the blaze was sparked by an aftermarket charger.

The electric vehicle (EV) – which images show is a Nissan Leaf – caught alight at a home in Glen Waverley in Melbourne’s east on Tuesday, with firefighters arriving five minutes later to find it engulfed in flames.

Two people and a dog were at home at the time but made it out of the property unharmed.

Investigating the blaze, Fire Rescue Victoria determined it had been caused by an aftermarket cable being used to charge the car, which was also plugged into a travel adaptor at the time.

As a result, the Service has issued a warning reminding EV owners to ensure they use compatible charging equipment, and only use plugs or cords originally supplied with the car – as well as to ensure they carry a Regulatory Compliance Mark to show they meet Australian standards.

This is the seventh electric vehicle fire in Australia since 2010 – three were external fires unrelated to the cars, one was arson, another followed a crash, and one was caused by road debris penetrating the battery.

Electric cars are deemed 100 times less likely to catch fire than an internal combustion-engined vehicle, though due to their predominantly lithium-ion batteries, they burn much more fiercely and don’t respond well to typical fire suppression methods.

This makes them more difficult and time consuming for crews to extinguish.

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