Boston’s commute became a snarled mess on Friday morning. CBS News Boston reports that a Chevrolet Equinox EV caught fire on I-90 westbound near Fenway Park, blocking all lanes and bringing traffic to a standstill all the way back to Logan Airport — and the Red Sox weren’t playing at the time. Most other major routes through the city were affected as well, including I-93, the Zakim Bridge, and Storrow Drive.
While authorities did not initially speculate on the cause of the fire, the Equinox driver, Brian Alba, told CBS News Boston that he hit a piece of road debris immediately before the fire started. Alba and his 90-year-old grandfather were briefly trapped in the car due to passing traffic, resulting in minor burns to Alba’s leg. However, both were able to escape the burning car and flee to safety before flames engulfed the car.
Many firefighters aren’t prepared to deal with EV fires, but the Boston Fire Department had the situation under control far more quickly than expected. Alba also credits a Massachusetts State Police trooper with using his own fire extinguisher to keep the fire from growing bigger until firefighters arrived. Although firefighters initially expected the fire to take several hours to put out, the road was clear and all lanes were open about two hours later.
It could’ve been much worse
This situation resembles one of the first known EV fires on a public road, where a Tesla Model S also hit road debris and caught fire in 2013. Firefighters had great difficulty putting that one out because they simply didn’t know how to yet. Even back then, Tesla advised firefighters to use ABC or CO2 extinguishers rather than water, which makes a lithium-ion fire worse. The word seems to have gotten out these days, as the state trooper first contained the Equinox’s flames with his extinguisher, and large amounts of foam were visible in the CBS News Boston footage. Only after the fire was out did firefighters switch to water, keeping the battery cool to prevent re-ignition. I do wonder why more EV batteries don’t have better protection from impacts like this, however, like an off-road or rally car bash plate.
While it’s unfortunate that this happened at all, it could have been a lot worse. The fire occurred just past the Prudential Tunnel, rather than inside the tunnel. Although the driver “lost a few hairs,” no one was seriously hurt, including the 90-year-old passenger. As EVs become more common, it seems that knowledge to fight battery fires may be spreading as well.
Perhaps the most unusual part of this incident was that the driver politely apologized for the massive traffic snarls that the fire caused, even though he is not to blame. We know Boston drivers are the worst, but there may yet be hope.
