California firefighters wanted to spray 50,000 gallons of water to extinguish a roadside Tesla Semi fireplace, the US Nationwide Transportation Security Board (NTSB) introduced in a preliminary report. Crews additionally used an plane to drop fireplace retardent within the “quick space as a precautionary measure,” in accordance with the company.
The crash occurred at 3:13 AM on August 19 on the I80 freeway east of Sacramento. The tractor-trailer departed the roadway whereas navigating a curve, struck a site visitors delineator and finally hit a tree. The motive force was unhurt however taken to hospital as a precaution.
The Tesla Semi’s giant 900kWh battery caught fireplace and reached a temperature of 1,000 levels F whereas spewing poisonous fumes. It continued to burn into the late afternoon as firefighters dowsed it with water to chill it down (Tesla despatched a technical skilled to evaluate high-voltage hazards and fireplace security). It wasn’t till 7:20 PM (over 16 hours after the crash) that the freeway was reopened.
All of that caught the eye of the NTSB, which sent a team of investigators, primarily to look at the fireplace dangers posed by giant lithium-ion battery packs. The company — which might solely make security suggestions and has no enforcement authority — stated that “all points of the crash stay below investigation whereas the NTSB determines the possible trigger.”
Given the lengthy street shutdown time, dangerously sizzling fireplace and poisonous fumes, the accident is prone to provoke lots of dialogue out and in of presidency. The NTSB concluded in 2021 that battery fires pose a threat to emergency responders and that producers’ pointers round such fires had been insufficient.
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