Electric scooty catches fire in Thane; know why electric vehicles go up in flames

Whenever an electric vehicle catches fire, it instantly becomes big news and the incident goes viral. The same has happened after a recent incident when an electric scooty caught fire on the Eastern Express Highway, Thane on Saturday. Thankfully, no one was injured in the incident, the regional disaster management cell (RDMC) officials confirmed to The Free Press Journal. The report also quoted the Thane RDMC chief Avinash Sawant as saying that officials received information about the fire at the regional disaster management cell room at around 8:40 am. According to the report, the two-wheeler is from the EVTRICK brand.

The team of the regional disaster management cell then reached the spot along with fire brigade personnel on a fire vehicle. “The two persons travelling on the bike remained unhurt in the incident,” he confirmed.

The fire was extinguished by 9:15 am and the situation was brought under control. However, the report didn’t specify the reason behind the fire in this incident.

Why electric vehicles catch fire

• Basically, a battery of an electric vehicle catches fire under three cases— electrical, thermal or mechanical, or under any of these combinations.
• EV battery fires can also be caused due to a collision or perhaps, it was already damaged in some way.
• The lithium-ion battery's composition makes it both efficient and susceptible to overheating, which can be fatal. This can be caused by a phenomenon known as "thermal runway," where a chain reaction within the battery cell leads to an increase in temperature, causing further chemical reactions and eventually resulting in a fire.
• Some fires occur while charging, when the owner does not follow the proper procedures and simply ends up overcharging the electric vehicles. Overcharging occurs when excessive current is supplied to a battery beyond its maximum capacity. This can cause the battery materials to break down after it has reached full charge, resulting in a fire risk.