In a surprising incident, a Tesla automotive caught fireplace inside a storage in Florida’s Pinellas County after the car parking zone flooded from Hurricane Helene. The storage the place the incident came about was flooded with saltwater by the storm
Tesla automotive catches fireplace inside Florida storage flooded from Hurricane Helene
Electric Vehicles that have been flooded in saltwater can catch fire. If you evacuated and left an electric vehicle or golf cart in your garage or under a building and you are not able to get to it or move it, we want you to let us know. /1 pic.twitter.com/dpfiXRAGuR
— Pinellas County (@PinellasGov) September 28, 2024
A household on Siesta Key survived Hurricane Helene however narrowly escaped once they say a Tesla parked of their storage ignited in the course of the evening.
Many of the Hodges household was in mattress when the blaze broke out. However two of their grandchildren stayed up somewhat previous midnight and heard a popping sound coming from the storage and went to see what was occurring.
That’s once they found what the Hodges describe as a “fireball.”
READ: From flooding to fires, Davis Islands bought hit onerous by Hurricane Helene
As fireplace alarms blared and the household rushed to get outdoors, they mentioned the automotive grew to become engulfed in flames in lower than a minute.
Credit score: Lisa and Morgan Hodges
The Hodges say it took lower than quarter-hour for his or her grandchildren’s bedrooms to break down within the fireplace. Shortly afterward, the remainder of the house did too.
The Hodges informed FOX 13 that they’d no thought a small quantity of water may trigger their automotive to ignite and scale back their dream residence to ashes.
“I’m simply glad we’re alive, however the whole lot I’ve…We’ve been married 38 years and the whole lot we put into that home,” mentioned a teary Lisa Hodges. “We constructed it for our household and it’s all gone.”
The Sarasota County Hearth Division whisked the nine-member household and two canines to security.
Nonetheless, the house that the Hodges simply moved into after a three-year renovation challenge is now gone.
Bay Space officers are warning the neighborhood concerning the risks of lithium-ion batteries and saltwater. Whether or not it’s an electrical automotive, a hybrid, a golf cart, or a scooter, if it makes use of a lithium-ion battery and it is available in contact with saltwater, it must be thought of a hearth hazard and it shouldn’t be in your house or in your storage.
In case you are disposing of that battery, you might want to be certain it’s separated from all trash and different hurricane particles due to the fireplace danger.
FOX 13 has reached out to Tesla concerning the latest fires throughout the Bay Space, however they haven’t responded.
Nonetheless, in line with Tesla’s web site, if a battery has develop into submerged in salt water, it must be handled as if that automotive has been in an accident. It must be inspected earlier than you attempt to begin it once more.
The Hodges mentioned they solely had a couple of inches of water of their storage and it was sufficient to spark the fireplace.
