A Tesla electric car caught fire while it was plugged into a charging station in Antwerp during the early hours of Saturday morning.
The fire department said the charging station was also damaged by the flames.
The fire department were able to quickly determine that the fire was caused by a technical problem with the vehicle. It was submerged in a container of water to stop it bursting into flames again.
“It takes a lot of time to cool the battery in this type of car down correctly. Our firefighters know from experience that the most efficient way is to completely submerge the vehicle in water”, the Antwerp fire department said.
The current procedure is to leave the car in the container of water for 24 hours. Firefighters then take it out and use a thermal camera to see if the battery is completely cool. If it’s not, the car will be put back in the water. “It has taken three days to a week for the battery to cool down completely before”, the same source revealed.
The Brussels Times
