An electric car battery caught fire and a firefighter was injured while trying to put out the fire.
The Volvo XC40 van was seen smoking on Ross Street in Camperdown, in Sydney’s inner west, shortly before 5.15am on Thursday.
Fire and Rescue NSW crews attended the scene and battled to put out the dangerous fire caused by the car’s lithium-ion battery.
“A battery inside an electric vehicle was smoldering and heating up, then caught fire,” FRNSW Superintendent Adam Dewberry told the newspaper. Daily Telegraph.
“Firefighters brought him down, but one firefighter suffered some minor injuries.”
The Volvo XC40 van was seen smoking on Ross Street in Camperdown, in Sydney’s inner west, shortly before 5.15am on Thursday.
The wounded fighter was taken to the hospital for observation.
While the fire was extinguished, Superintendent Dewberry warned that lithium-ion batteries have the potential to reignite.
“Two fire trucks will remain on scene and now we need to monitor the temperature of that battery to make sure we keep it cool and it doesn’t go into thermal runaway, where the fire can take root, accelerate and be extinguished with explosive force,” he said.
The fire was followed by a second car fire which closed both directions of the Princess Highway in nearby St Peters.
Firefighters responded to the fire near Canal Rd at around 6.30am
Firefighters warned that the electric vehicle’s lithium-ion battery had the potential to reignite after the fire was extinguished (pictured, St Peters car fire).
The charred remains of the vehicle were removed from the scene.
Live Traffic reported shortly before 7 a.m. that Princess Highway had reopened in both directions.
“Continue to exercise caution and allow additional travel time in the area,” he said.