My Lightning burned to the ground

[CD4TNF]

OP might consider submitting to the Australian EV Fire Safe group.

If you have an incident involving an electric vehicle you'd like to report to us, please head to our Report an EV Fire page & thank you for supporting our research.

https://www.evfiresafe.com/ev-battery-fire-data

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[rdr854]

It's at least 3.
OP
Costco
House on charge

You forget about the fire at the plant.

 

[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

The Stats, as best I can tell, so far, and these will change over time, but seems the best information we know currently:
In general
EV fires are reported as 25/100,00 {ICE 1530, Hybrids 3475} by the US NTSB.
OF EV fires, 20-30% are reported as during charging or immediately after charging. (the data didn't seem to separate L2 home charging from DCFC).
Most ICE fires reported are during vehicle operation (70%) however even ICE fires occur 30% of the time while parked.
Age-affects: EV's are "new" while many ICE on the roads are 20+ years old. One study attempted to correct for the young EV age in the stats, reported the 25/100,000 will likely move up to 166/100,000 as the EV fleet ages. {how they determined this in a study I don't know}.

Countries with high EV adoption (Norway, Sweden, Australia) have EV fire stats lower than N.America in the following ranges 7, 4, 1, EV fire per 100,000 from their national statistics reporting.
These countries have the highest EV adoption rates, with on road fleets +/- 28% of all personal vehicles, why the rates are so much lower than N.America is not clear.

For my home and family, we park the cars about 60 feet from the house, in a dedicated open carport; one EV, one ICE, one hybrid. From the data, its the hybrid that is most at risk for fire.

 

[21st Century Truck]

The Stats, as best I can tell, so far, and these will change over time, but seems the best information we know currently:
In general
EV fires are reported as 25/100,00 {ICE 1530, Hybrids 3475} by the US NTSB.
OF EV fires, 20-30% are reported as during charging or immediately after charging. (the data didn't seem to separate L2 home charging from DCFC).
Most ICE fires reported are during vehicle operation (70%) however even ICE fires occur 30% of the time while parked.
Age-affects: EV's are "new" while many ICE on the roads are 20+ years old. One study attempted to correct for the young EV age in the stats, reported the 25/100,000 will likely move up to 166/100,000 as the EV fleet ages. {how they determined this in a study I don't know}.

Countries with high EV adoption (Norway, Sweden, Australia) have EV fire stats lower than N.America in the following ranges 7, 4, 1, EV fire per 100,000 from their national statistics reporting.
These countries have the highest EV adoption rates, with on road fleets +/- 28% of all personal vehicles, why the rates are so much lower than N.America is not clear.

For my home and family, we park the cars about 60 feet from the house, in a dedicated open carport; one EV, one ICE, one hybrid. From the data, its the hybrid that is most at risk for fire.

Nice post with informative, aggregated data.

I can't help but note the 60-foot walk from family home to family cars in the famed Ontario Winter. Frankly, I can imagine some teenager curses freezing in the brisk February air

 

[Grumpy2]

EV fires are reported as 25/100,00 {ICE 1530, Hybrids 3475} by the US NTSB.

This is the key. Relax and enjoy the truck. Park & charge it, where it is most convenient.

There are much greater things to worry about !!

 

[Runaway Tractor]

I know the LVB is a perpetual annoyance for many people due to the moronic logic behind charging it. But this incident is not an LVB issue. That little LVB is not capable of rapidly incinerating the entire truck as we're seeing here. Based on the OP's description of the sound, timing, and the blazing inferno, this is quite clearly an HVB fire that quickly went into thermal runaway.

Feel free to continue being annoyed about the LVB. But stop trying to connect dots that do not connect to facilitate being annoyed about it.

 

[fhteagle]

EV fires are reported as 25/100,00 {ICE 1530, Hybrids 3475} by the US NTSB.

Did you get your numbers from that "AutoinsuranceEZ" infographic?

 

[TaxmanHog]

Feel free to continue being annoyed about the LVB. But stop trying to connect dots that do not connect to facilitate being annoyed about it.

Ford knows what happened.......................

 

[DavidS]

From what I’ve seen, L2 charging fires are more likely to be caused by installation issues rather than the EV. To prevent fire while L2 charging is to 1) make sure your wiring is up to current code and 2) hardwire your EVSE.

 

[Jseis]

Some helpful accident comparisons (& layoff the binge drinking…):

A risk of 25 in 100,000 (or 1 in 4,000) corresponds to several specific accidental and surgical risks:

• Lethal Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): In the U.S., approximately 25 out of 100,000 people die annually from head injuries.
• Abdominal Hysterectomy: The risk of death from this specific surgical procedure is estimated at 25 in 100,000.
• Binge Drinking: Consuming excessive alcohol in a single session carries an acute risk of sudden death of approximately 25 in 1,000,000 (25 micromorts).
• Agricultural Machinery (Girls): Injury rates for girls involving farm machinery (like tractors) have been recorded at exactly 25 per 100,000per year.
• Historic Home Accidents: In 1928, the death rate for preventable injuries occurring in or around the home was 25 per 100,000population (though modern rates are higher due to falls and poisonings).

Contextual Comparisons
To put this into perspective against other common risks:

• Motor Vehicle Deaths: The annual U.S. death rate from car crashes is roughly 11 to 17 per 100,000.
• Unintentional Poisoning: This is much higher, at roughly 29.9 per 100,000.
• Skydiving: You would need to complete 2.5 to 3 tandem jumps to reach a cumulative 25-in-a-million risk of death.

 

[ClevelandBeemer]

Some helpful accident comparisons (& layoff the binge drinking…):

A risk of 25 in 100,000 (or 1 in 4,000) corresponds to several specific accidental and surgical risks:

• Lethal Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): In the U.S., approximately 25 out of 100,000 people die annually from head injuries.
• Abdominal Hysterectomy: The risk of death from this specific surgical procedure is estimated at 25 in 100,000.
• Binge Drinking: Consuming excessive alcohol in a single session carries an acute risk of sudden death of approximately 25 in 1,000,000 (25 micromorts).
• Agricultural Machinery (Girls): Injury rates for girls involving farm machinery (like tractors) have been recorded at exactly 25 per 100,000per year.
• Historic Home Accidents: In 1928, the death rate for preventable injuries occurring in or around the home was 25 per 100,000population (though modern rates are higher due to falls and poisonings).

Contextual Comparisons
To put this into perspective against other common risks:

• Motor Vehicle Deaths: The annual U.S. death rate from car crashes is roughly 11 to 17 per 100,000.
• Unintentional Poisoning: This is much higher, at roughly 29.9 per 100,000.
• Skydiving: You would need to complete 2.5 to 3 tandem jumps to reach a cumulative 25-in-a-million risk of death.

Yeah….. I’m going to continue to park my EV outside until the catastrophic failure risk is far lower. To me a 4 in 100,000 chance isn’t worth it.

 

[RickLightning]

"Wait, so my EV has a 25 in 100,000 chance of catching fire? I'm parking it outside."

"Wait, so my gas car has a 1,530 in 100,000 chance of catching fire? I'm parking it in my garage...."

I added a temp sensor on my garage ceiling tied to my alarm for like $40. Been charging in my garage for almost 5 years now.

 

[ClevelandBeemer]

"Wait, so my EV has a 25 in 100,000 chance of catching fire? I'm parking it outside."

"Wait, so my gas car has a 1,530 in 100,000 chance of catching fire? I'm parking it in my garage...."

I added a temp sensor on my garage ceiling tied to my alarm for like $40. Been charging in my garage for almost 5 years now.

Come on, you’re smarter than this. How often do well maintained cars spontaneously catch fire when parked and just sitting there? I bet you it’s far fewer than a 4 in 100,000 chance. Also I have a chance of putting out a fire in an ICE vehicle, I have ZERO chance and extinguishing a HVB in thermal runaway. Which there’s a non-zero chance of it spontaneously happening.

If you feel comfortable parking in your garage, more power to you. For me, it’s not worth it.

 

[RickLightning]

Come on, you’re smarter than this. How often do well maintained cars spontaneously catch fire when parked and just sitting there? I bet you it’s far fewer than a 4 in 100,000 chance. Also I have a chance of putting out a fire in an ICE vehicle, I have ZERO chance and extinguishing a HVB in thermal runaway. Which there’s a non-zero chance of it spontaneously happening.

If you feel comfortable parking in your garage, more power to you. For me, it’s not worth it.

Your thinking is dangerous. YOU, unless you're a trained firefighter with the proper attire, and proper extinguishing equipment, should be running from your house and calling 911 if there is a vehicle fire of any type. You are delusional if you think you're going to put out a vehicle fire, gas or not.

And yes, I have the expertise to say that.

You can park where you want to. That's your right. But ignoring FACTS to make them say what you want them to say is simply ridiculous.

 

[ClevelandBeemer]

Your thinking is dangerous. YOU, unless you're a trained firefighter with the proper attire, and proper extinguishing equipment, should be running from your house and calling 911 if there is a vehicle fire of any type. Your are delusional if you think you're going to put out a vehicle fire, gas or not.

And yes, I have the expertise to say that.

You can park where you want to. That's your right. But ignoring FACTS to make them say what you want them to say is simply ridiculous.

I think my thinking is far from dangerous. As someone who frequently tracks vehicles, I have extinguishing equipment for fuel fires. Also, not all ICE fires are fuel based. There’s a lot I can do from the time FD is dispatched until the time they arrive.

Again if the HVB goes while in my garage, my home is nearly guaranteed to be going with it. Remember ICE fires last minutes vs EV fires which last hours.

BTW I fully recognize that EV’s are VERY safe, however in the very unlikely event there is a failure, I’ll be very glad my vehicle is parked outside.

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