'Thermal runaway' fire in EV car battery after crash led to 30-hour Corby to Kettering road closure

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service was called by Northamptonshire Police shortly before 9am on Friday (December 5) to reports of a fire in an electric vehicle, which followed a road traffic collision on the A6003 near Barford Bridge.

When crews arrived, the driver was already out of the vehicle, and left in the care of paramedics, but it took about 30 hours for the fire to be extinguished.

The crash and resulting fire caused the battery to enter ‘thermal runaway’ – a process which increases the risk of flammable gases being released unless heat is removed – firefighters stayed at the scene to douse it down.

A spokesman for Northants Fire and Rescue said: “The electric vehicle had collided with a tree, and the impact of the collision and subsequent fire caused the battery to enter thermal runaway, a process which increases the risk of flammable gases being released unless heat is removed.

“Firefighters decided that the safest course of action was to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading further.

“Crews remained on scene overnight and into the following afternoon, regularly checking the temperature of the vehicle and the battery to ensure it did not reignite, damping down and cooling using hose reel jets when required.

“Once the temperature was at a satisfactory level, crews undertook final checks before ensuring the vehicle was safe to be recovered.”

Crews returned to their respective stations shortly after 3.30pm on Saturday (December 6), leaving the scene in the hands of Highways for the area to be cleaned up and the road re-opened.

Area Manager Neil Sadler said: “Electric vehicle fires can be very difficult to deal with. On this occasion the safest tactical approach was to prevent the fire from spreading further, which meant that the road needed to be closed for a long time over the weekend.

“We understand the impact this road closure will have had on drivers, so we would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding in allowing us to extinguish the fire in the safest way possible.

“Electrical vehicle battery fires are a new risk for us to deal with. We are making sure that our crews receive training on the different tactical approaches they can take to extinguish these kinds of fires, and the different kinds of equipment they can use in different circumstances to ensure that we keep people safe.”

Northants Fire and Rescue Service were unable to say the make or model of the vehicle involved.

The road was re-opened after resurfacing work.