A North Carolina home was evacuated after a 12-volt automobile battery exploded in the kitchen because of user error, officials say.
The man who sparked the blaze owns a Tesla, but fire authorities said it’s a mistake that any car owner could make.
On Saturday, a Tesla owner in Cary, North Carolina, removed the small, low-voltage lithium battery from their car to charge it, Laird Van Gorden, battalion chief of the Cary fire department, told USA Today. The homeowner plugged it into an outlet in their kitchen, but the battery short-circuited and exploded.
“They had tried to get a replacement [and] were unable to, so they decided to try and charge the battery themselves,” Van Gorden explained to WRAL .
The news station reported that plumes of smoke dispersed into the residence. The house was evacuated, and four people were rushed outside due to smoke inhalation.
According to the fire department, by the time firefighters arrived, the flames were extinguished using a dry chemical extinguisher.