Shoppers at McCandless Crossing got an unexpected light show last night when an electric vehicle erupted in flames while plugged in at a charging station. The EV was destroyed, several nearby cars were damaged, and the plaza was filled with smoke, but authorities said no one was hurt.
Fire crews pulled up to find the vehicle already fully engulfed, with bystanders backing away as the blaze grew. Witnesses reported loud pops and bright flashes coming from the car. “Every explosion, it seemed like the flames got bigger,” recalled Robert Zedo. Another woman who heard a sharp pop bolted from her car and called 911 as firefighters attacked the flames, according to CBS Pittsburgh.
What officials said
McCandless Fire Marshal Jeff Wissner told CBS Pittsburgh that the EV’s battery pack, mounted under the vehicle, made the fire especially tough to fight. He noted that those packs can emit gases like hydrogen cyanide and hydrogen fluoride, both dangerous to breathe, and said the system does not need oxygen to burn. Wissner warned that damaged battery packs can smolder internally and sometimes reignite days or even weeks after the initial incident.
He added that a neighboring company brought over a specialized underbody nozzle to pump water directly beneath the car, a tool that runs about $3,000 and is still out of reach for many departments dealing with tight budgets.
Why EV blazes can be stubborn
Fire experts point to battery thermal runaway, a chain reaction inside lithium-ion cells that can drive temperatures sky high and vent toxic gases, as a key reason EV fires can be far more stubborn than traditional engine fires. A 2017 study in Scientific Reports measured hydrogen fluoride and other hazardous compounds released during lithium-ion battery fires…