Second electric bus catches fire in Paris

A video recording shows the start of the fire, which consumed an electric RATP bus on Friday, April 29, 2022. There were no injuries.

The bus burst into flames within seconds of a small explosion on the roof, where the batteries are installed. This was quickly followed by huge flames engulfing the entire body.

The Line 71 bus caught fire in the 13th arrondissement of Paris in the morning, mobilizing around 30 firemen, according to the firefighters contacted by Le Parisien.

It is a 100 percent electric vehicle, from the Bolloré BlueBus 5SE series, like the bus that burned at the beginning of April .

This afternoon, the RATP decided to temporarily withdraw its fleet of 149 Bolloré electric BlueBuses from service.

First it was battery-operated electric cars, starting with hybrids (gas & electric), then 100 percent electric. The batteries in all these vehicles are lithium-ion (Li-ion).

The lithium-ion batteries are installed in the roof, unlike electric cars. In the image above, the white rectangular boxy structures behind the solar panels appear to be the lithium-ion cells. Some manufacturers, like the French bus manufacturer Bolloré, seem to install them beneath the solar panels.

Elon Musk scored big with his Teslas. The only problem is Tesla batteries tend to ignite spontaneously and—oh no!—explode, going into what’s called thermal runaway. Horrific fires that can’t be extinguished by water or chemicals.

The electrolyte in lithium-ion batteries is typically lithium hexafluorophosphate. This is the source of the fluorine in the hydrogen fluoride gas (vapor or mist or smoke) and hydrofluoric acid ejected during thermal runaway or fire or explosion.

See more here: rivercitymalone.com

Header image: BNO News

One of many videos of the incident here:

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