Electric Car Plug In Sets Nearby Building on Fire!

I was on the MSN web looking at the news. Evidently an electric car plugged in for recharging evidently caught on fire, and not only burned the car but the building that the car was next to. There was a picture of the car and the building.

Now what does that tell us?

Anyone have any comments?

 

it tells us that you need to post a link, because i've done a number of searches on MSN for combinations of electric car, fire, and plug in and can't find this news article...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(loveit @ Feb 2 2007, 10:08 AM) [snapback]384376[/snapback]</div>

If God wanted us to drive electric cars, she wouldn't have made something safe and clean like petroleum?

Check the extension cord for frays?

Make sure your insurance is paid up?

I don't know, I still want a PHEV in my future. I really want a Tesla, but I can't afford one right now.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eagle33199 @ Feb 2 2007, 10:18 AM) [snapback]384378[/snapback]</div>

I did some googling, and the only thing close I could find was this:

http://www.ktvu.com/news/10855312/detail.html

Electric Car Was Not Plugged In Before SF Fire

SAN FRANCISCO -- A fire at San Francisco's Crissy Field sparked by an electric car was the second blaze in just over a year at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area that was caused by an apparently defective electric vehicle, a parks spokesman said Friday.

The vehicle was not plugged in when it caught fire while parked outside the Warming Hut, a historic building in the Presidio of San Francisco renovated as a showcase for sustainable design.

The car, a Daimler Chrysler GEM car, belonged to the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, a nonprofit wing of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, recreation area spokesman Rich Weideman said.

The fire damaged about 5 percent of the historic landmark building to the tune of as much as $200,000, he said.

 

Here's the source
>>Today's fire was the second time a Gem vehicle has caught fire at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. One of the DaimlerChrysler-made vehicles caught fire a year ago at Alcatraz Island. That vehicle was plugged in at the time, prompting GGNRA officials to adopt a policy requiring that unattended vehicles be left unplugged, Weideman said. <<

More at:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c...AGGONPRBP14.DTL

Never heard of a Gem vehicle before myself.

*EDIT: Beryl wins the google race

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MegansPrius @ Feb 2 2007, 10:32 AM) [snapback]384384[/snapback]</div>

Interesting. I found a source that said the car wasn't plugged in at the time.

From http://cbs5.com/localwire/localfsnews/bcn/...ources_bcn_html
A fire at San Francisco's Crissy Field sparked by an electric car was the second blaze in just over a year at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area that was caused by an apparently defective electric vehicle, a parks spokesman said today.

The vehicle was not plugged in when it caught fire while parked outside the Warming Hut, a historic building in the Presidio of San Francisco renovated as a showcase for sustainable design.

The MSNBC article (with pictures) is here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16828959/

EDIT: Damn. That's what I get for being a slow typer!!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MegansPrius @ Feb 2 2007, 10:32 AM) [snapback]384384[/snapback]</div>

I hadn't either. It seems more like what I'd call a golf cart, than a car:



and from what I hear from my mother in law living in Florida, they seem to have about one golf cart fire a month in the place she lives in.

 

Found the vehicles:
http://www.gemcar.com/index.asp

Now, lets be fair - these aren't cars. They're glorified golf carts. They have a 30 mile range and can only get up to 25 MPH. Most of them aren't even fully enclosed.

*edit*
damn, you beat me to it!

Lets see... 3 articles that say it wasn't plugged in at the time, and one that says it does... who do we believe?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eagle33199 @ Feb 2 2007, 11:45 AM) [snapback]384393[/snapback]</div>

Actually, the sfgate article also refers to the current incident being unplugged (I just pulled that other quote to note that it had happenned before -- maybe consumeraffiars.com should look into this ):

>>Investigators determined the blaze started with an electrical fire in a nearby Gem electric vehicle, but they do not know what went wrong with the vehicle, Weideman said. The vehicle was unplugged and parked on the west side of the Warming Hut, he said.<<

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eagle33199 @ Feb 2 2007, 10:45 AM) [snapback]384393[/snapback]</div>

Sorry, I was not trying to race or anything, I'm just starting to get more interested in electric cars, so I'm following these kind of articles. I was actually hoping DC had an electric car out there and I'd just missed hearing about it since DC is not usually on my radar very much when it comes to auto news. I guess "electric car burns building" is much more attention-grabbing than "golf cart shorts out" or something.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Beryl Octet @ Feb 2 2007, 11:49 AM) [snapback]384395[/snapback]</div>

Maybe they should have tried "Golf Cart INFERNO!"

 

They drive these on the street, they are tagged and concidered a motor vehicle. (thus its a car)

Ban them until a safer plug in vehicle can be made....!

(I said that for darelldds benifit) :lol: :lol:

 

Sorry Beryl. I couldn't get the link in fast enough as I was fumbling with it then my lunch hour was up! I really want to go green with my next car, but not with envy! It really is food for thought.

 

My neighbor's 1960's era e-Type Jaguar caught on fire just sitting in the garage (it burned down half the house, giving me another reason to prefer a detached garage).

I don't know if I'd be more worried about one of these or a golf car(t).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(loveit @ Feb 2 2007, 07:08 AM) [snapback]384376[/snapback]</div>

1. That there are risks involved in every type of energy storage.
2. Gems don't have any of the safeguards that *real* EVs have.

Yup, I do. This reminds me of all the sensational press that the Prius gets... because it is a Prius. It doesn't get EPA mileage! It has had a recall! Good lord. Should we start a thread for every gasoline car that bursts into flames? Check the stats on how many gas station fires and gasoline car fires there have been. We think nothing of parking 20 gallons of gasoline in an attached garage, and yet we worry about batteries? Amazing.

 

<sarcasm>
Well, in that case, I for one will be sticking with 100% gasoline powered cars. Why? Because gasoline is not flammable.

Last I heard, gasoline doesn't burn.

Nate

<end sarcasm>

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(naterprius @ Feb 2 2007, 02:45 PM) [snapback]384576[/snapback]</div>

No kidding. Back in the bad old days, before self-service gas was a glint in some OR type's eye at Standard Oil, I had a summer job pumping gas. The first day, the manager put about an inch of gas into a paint tray, and showed me that you could put out a cigarette in it without incident. Some days I wonder if Darwin ever caught up with him.

 

I think I saw a GEM once at a show (maybe Lacey?). I know I've seen them on the web. They are street-legal but do not look safe to me. I imagine they're most popular within retirement communities where speed limits are typically 15 mph and quiet is highly valued and appreciated. I've certainly never seen one on the street.

Like Beryl, I want a Tesla. Don't feel too bad that you can't afford one, though. Because even if you could afford the sticker price, you could not get one. Not for about a year and a bit. The people at the top of the waiting list have not even gotten theirs yet, and won't for a while. March of 2008 is the current estimate if you order one now, but that assumes no more delays. The present delay is due to the need to completely re-design the transmission, which the vehicle does not even need unless you want to drive faster than any sane person ever would. We're talking very high-end sports car here.

 

I'm pretty sure the Gem uses the same design as the Pinto: The exhaust pipe goes right through the battery!

Tom

 

my friend had a TA classic convertible that burned also. (gasline leak onto the exhaust he thinks. not much left of the car to make an exact diagnosis) guess we need to stop driving ICE vehicles as well... now that is a good idea. the fact that he got about 12 mpg also helps that decision