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30 August 2024
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Major fire at Rivian’s Illinois plant destroys dozens of EVs, US
A vehicle fire broke out at Rivian’s Normal factory in Illinois over the weekend, damaging about 50 vehicles. Firefighters were alerted to the fire just before 21h45 Saturday, 24 August 2024 and video of the incident shows flames and smoke billowing from the plant’s north parking lot. Normal Fire Department spokesperson Matt Swaney said that firefighters had extinguished the fire by midnight Sunday but remained on the scene. The fire was at a parking lot on the north side of the four-million-square-foot factory, located 209km south of Chicago and the assembly plant was unaffected, the Normal Fire Department said in a statement.
Battery fires can be difficult to put out and there is a risk that a fire could reignite. It’s unclear what caused the fire to start but the department has already begun its investigation.
The fire didn’t spread beyond the vehicles, sparing the plant and no one was injured.
Rivian builds the R1T and R1S at this factory.
An aerial photo posted to the Rivian Electric Vehicles Discussion Facebook group taken the following morning revealed the extent of the damage. More than 30 Rivians appear burnt down to their frames, with very little left. The other vehicles look fine at a distance but there’s no way they escaped the heat without damage. The whole group could likely be a loss.
The fire at the Rivian plant has raised questions about the safety of electric vehicles.
Sources: Reuters, Motor1.com
Battery fires can be difficult to put out and there is a risk that a fire could reignite. It’s unclear what caused the fire to start but the department has already begun its investigation.
The fire didn’t spread beyond the vehicles, sparing the plant and no one was injured.
Rivian builds the R1T and R1S at this factory.
An aerial photo posted to the Rivian Electric Vehicles Discussion Facebook group taken the following morning revealed the extent of the damage. More than 30 Rivians appear burnt down to their frames, with very little left. The other vehicles look fine at a distance but there’s no way they escaped the heat without damage. The whole group could likely be a loss.
The fire at the Rivian plant has raised questions about the safety of electric vehicles.
Sources: Reuters, Motor1.com
