A large fire broke out in the Numaish parking lot on Saturday, reducing as many as three vehicles to ash. Abids, a major business centre in Hyderabad, was the scene of the incident, according to a city official. The fire started in one electric vehicle and quickly spread to five others. The vehicle's make and model are unknown as of this report's completion.
"Three cars burned down to ashes and three others were partially burned after an electric car in the Numaish parking lot caught fire. Fire tenders are present at the spot," said Inspector B Prasada Rao, Abids Police Station.
Fires in electric cars have happened before. There was an outbreak of electric scooter fires and explosions in 2022. Although fires in electric cars are far less common than those in 2-wheeled vehicles, the havoc and destruction they wreak when they do occur is much greater.
While internal combustion engines have reached their peak of reliability, electric cars still have a ways to go before they can match their performance. Fires involving electric vehicles (EVs) occur often because of this. Additionally, many scooters that have experienced battery fires were constructed or designed without proper R&D.
True, there have been instances when such mishaps ended in death. Therefore, the government is now also worried about this problem. New safety regulations have been implemented by the Ministry of Transport and Highways (MoRTH). Limitations on battery pack design, on-board chargers, and heat propagation due to internal cell short-circuiting that causes fire were imposed by the alterations.
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There was a press release saying that the new rules were implemented on October 1, 2022. Included in the publication is the notification that, as of October 1, 2022, the applicable categories of electric vehicles must comply with the updated AIS 156 and AIS 038 Rev.2 requirements.
(With inputs from ANI)
