At least six homes caught fire in Florida after floodwaters from Hurricane Helene submerged electric vehicle (EV) batteries and ignited them, state chief financial officer and fire marshal Jimmy Patronis said on Oct. 2.
During a press conference with Gov. Ron DeSantis in Madeira Beach, Florida, Patronis said that state officials have seen 16 fires so far from EVs in the Tampa Bay area alone, including Pinellas County.
The governor had warned EV owners in Florida to get their vehicles to higher ground ahead of Helene’s arrival, as contact with saltwater can short-circuit the batteries, causing a catastrophic chain reaction known as thermal runaway in which heat energy is released from the battery to cause a fire….