A car worth more than a million baht was destroyed by fire yesterday, August 16, after being left charging overnight outside a townhouse in Khlong Luang district, Pathum Thani. The car fire gutted the vehicle’s cabin, though no injuries were reported and the blaze was stopped before it could spread to nearby homes.
The call came in to the disaster prevention unit of the Khlong Sam Subdistrict Administrative Organisation early yesterday morning, at a housing estate in Khlong Sam subdistrict. Two fire engines were dispatched to the scene.
Emergency response units found a white sedan parked in front of a two-storey townhouse, with flames spreading fast inside the passenger compartment.
They sprayed water to stop the fire from reaching the house and the neighbouring properties, taking about an hour to bring the blaze under control.
The driver’s compartment was badly damaged. No injuries were reported.
The car had reportedly been plugged in overnight. Investigators have not confirmed what started the fire.
Thailand has had a run of these
This is not an isolated case, and most of the recent ones have involved home charging rather than public chargers.
Volvo had the most serious run. An EX30 caught fire in a Bangkok residential area on March 25, and a second went up while charging at home on 15 May.
Both were part of a recall announced in February covering 1,668 EX30 Single Motor Extended Range and Twin Motor Performance cars with battery modules prone to overheating.
Volvo Cars Thailand said early checks found both cars had been charged above 70%, which was more than the level it had told owners to stay under. It began replacing battery modules from May 22.
The Office of the Consumer Protection Board summoned the company on May 21, and Thailand later issued a stop-sale order on the model.
In June, a BYD Dolphin caught fire while charging at a house in Mueang district, Khon Kaen. The flames spread to the home, and firefighters needed about an hour to put it out.
Another EV fire in Phichit the same month spread to three nearby houses.
Earlier this month, a nearly new electric car caught fire while charging at a home in Nonthaburi. It destroyed the car and damaged another, and forensic officers examined the wall charger.
In several of these cases, the investigation has looked at the home charging setup rather than the car itself.
The advice from Thai fire services has been to charge where you can see it rather than overnight, do not charge to full if the maker advises a lower limit, use an installer certified for the wiring load, and keep the car away from the house wall while it charges.
Related news
- Toyota Thailand executive urges stronger EV policy amid Indonesia bid
- Three homes destroyed in Phichit fire, EV erupts in flames
- Investigation continues into fire at house and EV in Khon Kaen
The story Overnight charging blamed in Pathum Thani car fire as seen on Thaiger News.
