Are Electric Vehicles Fire Hazards?

Until his retirement, Rick Sikes managed the fleet of cars and trucks operating in the city of Santa Monica, CA, a municipality generally known for its progressive stance with respect to environmental stewardship.  He worked hard to integrate alternative-fueled vehicles of all types: electric, yes, but also an interesting array of hydrogen, natural gas, even propane.

I interviewed Rick as the basis for a chapter of my first book, “Renewable Energy–Facts and Fantasies,” as an example of what forward-thinking cities are capable of when it comes to phasing out petroleum.  I conducted the talk on a walking tour of his facility, which features huge tanks of different types of fuel, during which I asked, jokingly, “Am I in any danger here this afternoon?”

Taking me seriously, Rick replied that gas-powered vehicles are far more likely to catch fire than EVs and the rest. In fact, there are so many of them each day that most of them don’t even make the local news.

Here we are 15 years later, and now we’re starting see the propaganda that falsely claims that EVs are extremely  likely to burst into flames, an assertion refuted in this recent article in AutoBlog.