Takeaways
- Electric vehicles account for about 8% of new car sales in Kansas.
- EV fires burn extremely hot but are rare compared to gas-powered vehicles.
- The Wichita Fire Department states it is ready to handle EV fires, despite their unique challenges.
Driving around Wichita, you’ll see the occasional Tesla, electric Ford F-150 Lightning pickup or even one of the city’s battery-powered buses quietly cruising around town.
With more electric vehicles have come more worries about what happens if they catch fire. They burn much hotter, emit noxious gases and pose an electrocution risk.
But the idea that EVs catch fire more often than gas-powered vehicles is a myth.
“Electric vehicles are new, and there’s all these concerns,” said Dora Gallo, a transportation planner at the Wichita Area Metropolitan Planning Organization. “It’s more publicized, but nobody reports on a regular (internal combustion engine) vehicle when it catches on fire.”
As transportation experts consider the need for more electric vehicle charging stations, the Wichita Fire Department states it’s found new challenges when fighting EV fires.