Electric Cars in Parking Garages: A Burning Debate

Electric cars in parking garages—are they safe? It's a question that refuses to die down.

Yes, we know the drill: "But regular cars with combustion engines catch fire too!" And that's undeniably true. Statistically, internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles ignite more frequently than electric vehicles (EVs) worldwide. But here’s the kicker: we’re talking about electric cars in parking garages and the unique fire risks they pose.

You’ve probably seen those viral videos—an electric car suddenly becomes a bonfire on wheels. Now, imagine that happening in a confined parking garage, where firefighters struggle to access the vehicle. The results can be catastrophic. Extinguishing an EV fire is notoriously tough, and the idea of dunking the car into a wet container inside a parking garage? Forget it.

Take South Korea, for example. The debate there has reached a fever pitch after a major EV fire in a parking garage. In Seoul, it took firefighters a staggering eight hours to put out an electric car blaze. The inferno didn’t just consume the EV; it also damaged 140 other vehicles. The parking garage was beneath a residential complex, leaving 200 homes temporarily uninhabitable.

The culprit? An electric Mercedes EQE 350, parked innocently among other cars, not even charging. The EV spontaneously combusted, turning a quiet day into a chaotic nightmare.

So, where do the batteries come from? Following the fire, Mercedes-Benz Korea, under pressure from the government, revealed that the EQE was equipped with a battery pack from the Chinese company Farasis Energy. The Korean government is now keen on tracing battery origins to assess their quality. If certain batteries, let’s call them "Klaasje," tend to catch fire more often, the government might ban them, forcing automakers to switch to another brand—let’s say "Pietje."

In the end, the debate about the fire safety of electric cars in parking garages rages on. Should we line the floors with fireproof blankets? Who knows. But one thing’s for sure—this conversation isn’t going away anytime soon.