In the Spanish capital Madrid, two firefighters have been killed while battling a burning electric car. The fire service is warning of an enormous risk.
In the Spanish capital, a burning electric car has cost the lives of two firefighters as they were trying to put out the flames.
One firefighter, who was soon to be a father, died after trying to save a colleague from the ongoing fire.
The fire department received the alarm at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The report appeared to indicate that a Porsche Taycan had caught fire in a garage in Alcorcón, Madrid.
According to Spanish media, it happened after the car collided with another vehicle. The driver of the Porsche is said to have stepped on the wrong pedal, which led to the collision.
When firefighters arrived on the scene, they initially assumed it was a regular fire. However, the situation turned out to be more complicated.
During the extinguishing work, three firefighters were reportedly trapped in the parking lot where the electric car was burning.
Two of the men managed to escape by getting out. One of them immediately returned to help the colleague who was still inside.
Shortly afterwards, both Sergio, 27, and Jesús, 34, were found dead. The firefighter who returned to help his colleague was found in cardiac arrest.
Despite resuscitation attempts, doctors at the scene were unable to save his life.
The third firefighter who was trapped remains in critical condition. Thirteen other firefighters and the driver of the Porsche were also hospitalized with minor injuries after inhaling toxic fumes.
After the incident, firefighter Joaquín Pérez from the Toledo Fire Department, who participated in the extinguishing work, vigorously pursued the electric cars.
– The risk of electric car fires in enclosed spaces is enormous.
"It is many times bigger than a fire involving a vehicle with an internal combustion engine," he tells the newspaper El Mundo.
Joaquín Pérez has taught how to put out fires in electric cars. He explains that there is a significant difference between diesel/petrol and electric cars.
– The first danger is that an electric car burns much faster than a gasoline car, much faster.
But in the internal combustion engine there is only one danger and it can be extinguished in five minutes.
– An electric car has two: First the plastic and everything else burns, so to speak, but then the batteries, which are made up of small cells that burn one after the other, burn, he explains.
The fire has sparked debate about the safety of electric cars in Spain. The specific cause of the incident is now being investigated.
But this isn't the first time a burning electric car has sparked debate about the type of car. Last year, a fire in a South Korean parking garage prompted politicians to propose a ban on electric cars in such buildings. Read more about it here .
