Eddington Fire Department Says Electric Car A Total Loss After It Caught Fire

Officials say an electric car that caught fire in Eddington Tuesday morning is a total loss.

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Folks with the Eddington Fire Department said crews from Eddington and Holden Fire Department were called to the area of Jarvis Gore Drive at 10:30 this morning, for reports of a vehicle fire.

According to their Facebook Page: 

"While responding, dispatch updated that it was a hybrid electric Prius with a nearby house. On scene, the car was well involved with fire. Crews were able to extinguish the flames before the fire entered the battery storage area or damaged the home."

The post went on to say that first responders have found that electric vehicle fires are traditionally very large and can be difficult, if impossible to extinguish. However, firefighters were able to put Tuesday's fire out, but not before the car was too far gone to be repaired.

According to the online car shopping guide, Edmunds, the occurrence of EV fires compared to fires in cars with regular engines is still relatively low in comparison, by those keeping score, like safety agencies in Sweeden.

"The MSB's 2023 report found that electric car fires, out of about 611,000 electric vehicles, have averaged about 20 per year in the last three years. On the other hand, cars powered by fuel — totaling about 4.4 million — had about 3,400 fires during that same time. The agency concedes that some of the fires in internal combustion engine vehicles were due to arson, but the figures still come out in favor of EVs.

For comparison, the U.S. had over 283 million registered vehicles in 2022, so the odds are good that you'll never have to worry about your new electric car bursting into flames."

If you have an electric vehicle and it happens to catch fire, authorities say the best thing to do is to exit the vehicle, get a safe distance away from it, and call the fire department.