A sightseeing tour company in San Diego is having to hit the brakes on rentals after about 30 of its vehicles, including several powered by lithium-ion batteries, went up in flames Thursday night, authorities said.
Firefighters responded to the blaze at GoCar Tours at 9:22 p.m., according to San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokesperson Mónica Muñoz. They quickly extinguished the fire in the back of a single-story commercial building and called in a hazmat team, she said.
The team helped move the remnants of the battery-powered GoCars to a safe area of the parking lot so they could be properly removed by a hazardous materials contractor, said Battalion Chief Robert Rezende, an expert in lithium-ion battery fires and the region’s first alternative-energy emergency response coordinator.
Lithium-ion battery fires have the potential to be extremely dangerous as they emit hazardous gases and can burn for hours or even days.
In this case, the fire was quickly extinguished and it’s unclear whether the batteries were damaged, Rezende said.