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A family in Chandlers Ford, Hampshire, faced a fire from their EV.
Their $64,000 Mercedes-Benz EQA caught fire while charging on September 30.
The blaze spread to their garage and caused smoke damage to their home.
A family in Chandler's Ford, Hampshire, in the UK narrowly avoided losing their home after their $64,000 (Rs 54 lakh) Mercedes-Benz EQA electric vehicle caught fire in their driveway on September 30th, according to The New York Post. The blaze spread to the garage and caused smoke damage to the front bedroom of Scott and Georgina Bayliss's home, valued at around Rs 6 crore. Their 17-year-old son, James, alerted the family to the fire.
The cause of the fire remains unclear, but it occurred while the car's battery was charging. Firefighters from Eastleigh, Redbridge, and St Mary's responded quickly after multiple 999 calls were made reporting the blaze, as per the newsportal. Fortunately, no one was injured, although the family had to evacuate their home.
Scott, 47, said he and Georgina were baffled about the cause of the fire which engulfed their car as the battery was charging.
"We were watching TV, and suddenly there was a popping sound. My son thought someone was letting off fireworks, but then there was a very loud bang like a bomb going off. There were flames everywhere," said Scott.
"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."
According to the New York Post, "The family managed to scramble out of the house while Scott tried to put the blaze out with a hosepipe while waiting for the fire service to arrive. One theory is the car, which they bought in 2022, entered a 'thermal runaway', when the battery uncontrollably overheats and is not able to cool down."
Scott, who works in food manufacturing, added: "We don't know for sure what's happened, but based on knowledge and video footage, it looks like the car went into some thermal runaway.
A neighbour described the terrifying scene: "I was probably the last to hear about it on the block. The fire was going when I got up, and the house was beginning to catch. Flames were coming out the door and window. I was frightened for the young family."
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