Watch this Mercedes EV burst into flames while charging in a driveway
A UK family recently lost their Mercedes-Benz electric vehicle (EV) to a tragic fire. In a harrowing video, the Mercedes EV goes from smoking to a fully involved car fire in moments. While no one was injured, the family was shocked and disheartened by the dangerous blaze.
A UK EV owner isn’t “keen to sit a Mercedes ever again” after a fire destroyed his EV and nearly burned his home down
The Bayliss family was watching TV when they heard a loud popping sound. At first, the British family dismissed the noise as fireworks in the neighborhood. However, a loud, fiery bang followed the pop, causing the Bayliss family some alarm. Upon exiting their Spratton, Northants home, they discovered their Mercedes EV was a ball of fire.
“The pace and ferocity at which the fire took hold and engulfed the entire car and pretty much the entire front of our house was scary beyond belief,” Scott Bayliss recounted. According to the New York Post, the Mercedes-Benz EQA was charging in the driveway when it caught fire, puzzling the family. In an act of desperation, the owners attempted to extinguish the flames using a set of garden hoses.
As expected, the fire raged on, consuming the EQA in a continuous fireball. The fire brigade arrived on the scene to fight the inferno. However, after extinguishing the fire and surveying the damage, the Mercedes-Benz EQA was no more.
“EQA” might seem like a misprint to an American reader. However, the EQA is a GLA-based small electric crossover in other international markets, not on US roads. Either way, the Bayliss family lost their £50,000 (currently about $65,000) to the blaze.
Incidentally, the vehicle may have gone into a state of thermal runaway causing the blaze to rage on. In the case of thermal runaway, battery architecture heats to unsafe levels and perpetuates continuous heating. As a result, first responders have a difficult time defeating some battery fires with mass quantities of water alone.
Mercedes-Benz responded with a promise to look into the fire. The Bayliss family said the response they received from the German giant was something along the lines of “We’ll conduct an investigation.” Scott Bayliss was less than ecstatic about the response. “They’ve offered us a loan car. I’m not keen to sit in a Mercedes ever again if I’m honest.”
Check out a video of the Mercedes EV lighting up the night below!
