Luxury Porsche worth over 10 million baht catches fire in Bangkok

[snoop1130]

 

A luxury Porsche worth over 10 million baht caught fire in front of a showroom in Bangkok’s Srinakarin area, causing severe damage to the vehicle. Fortunately, the fire did not spread to nearby cars or the building.

 

The incident occurred yesterday, with the 1197 Traffic Hotline page sharing the dramatic event that unfolded in front of the luxury car showroom. The fire broke out suddenly, engulfing the Porsche parked at the front of the showroom. The blaze caused extensive damage to the side and rear sections of the vehicle.

 

A fire broke out involving a vehicle at the Srinakarin Road showroom at 1.42pm yesterday. The blaze has been contained and did not spread to adjacent vehicles or the building, stated the 1197 Traffic Hotline page. The Traffic Police Division, TFPD, and volunteers quickly responded to the scene to manage the situation.

 

Images from the scene show the luxury Porsche enveloped in flames, with thick smoke billowing from the car’s body. The rapid response from authorities prevented the fire from affecting other vehicles or the showroom structure, averting a potentially larger disaster.

 

An investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of the fire. Authorities are meticulously examining the scene and gathering evidence to understand what led to the sudden ignition of the high-end vehicle, reported KhaoSod.

 

Witnesses at the scene expressed relief that the fire did not escalate further.

 

“It was a relief to see the fire contained so quickly. The situation could have been much worse if it had spread to other cars or the building.”

 

Further updates are expected as the investigation progresses, with authorities committed to providing clear answers regarding the cause of the fire.

 

By Puntid Tantivangphaisal

Photo courtesy of KhaoSod

 

Source: The Thaiger 2024-05-24

 

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[Georgealbert]

This seems to be an EV, Porsche Taycan. The car was reported to be awaiting repairs, when  a fire started in the battery.

 

A picture of the other side of the vehicle, shows that the car raised on jacks. The question is was this done by responders to aid firefighting, which would be unusual, or was the car being jacked for repairs, in the wrong location and damaged the battery. Battery location on the Taycan shown below.

 

Given the relative ease reported in extinguishing the fire, this would not appear to be a thermal runaway battery event.

 

 

[SAFETY FIRST]

10 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

This seems to be an EV, Porsche Taycan. The car was reported to be awaiting repairs, when  a fire started in the battery.

 

A picture of the other side of the vehicle, shows that the car raised on jacks. The question is was this done by responders to aid firefighting, which would be unusual, or was the car being jacked for repairs, in the wrong location and damaged the battery. Battery location on the Taycan shown below.

 

Given the relative ease reported in extinguishing the fire, this would not appear to be a thermal runaway battery event.

 

 

Outstanding.

 

I was thinking that it was a Porsche EV after reading the article earlier but there was no mention. 

 

Thanks mate 👍

 

 

Edited May 24 by SAFETY FIRST

[stoner]

worth 10 mil because of 300 percent tax. 

[Georgealbert]

2 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Outstanding.

 

I was thinking that it was a Porsche EV after reading the article earlier but there was no mention. 

 

Thanks mate 👍

 

 

It has now been confirmed that the jacks were not the cause of the fire.

 

Emergency responders got the showroom technicians to raise the car to help extinguish the fire, then the battery was removed to be submerged in water to prevent any further possible problems.

 

Edited May 25 by Georgealbert

[mran66]

Local electrician done a bit tuning for more power and forgot to wind insulation tape over twist-joined cables? 

[ExpatOilWorker]

Porsche Taycan was recalled in Australia 2 weeks ago, exactly for the fire 🔥 risk.

https://www.carexpert.com.au/car-news/porsche-taycan-recalled-due-to-fire-risk

[JBChiangRai]

It was a Porsche Taycan Turbo EV.
 

The fire seems to be front and rear but not where the battery is, it will be interesting to find out the cause.

 

I don’t think it’s possible to remove a battery if it’s on fire.

[DTL2014]

i thought foam was the appropriate extinguisher for electrical fires? can we assume the fire services know the correct procedures for how to deal with an EV fire?

[jippytum]

Porsche spend millions on advertising .For this to a hot news item happening in front of the showroom is a PR disaster.

[Georgealbert]

1 hour ago, JBChiangRai said:

It was a Porsche Taycan Turbo EV.
 

The fire seems to be front and rear but not where the battery is, it will be interesting to find out the cause.

 

I don’t think it’s possible to remove a battery if it’s on fire.

In all reports, from witnesses and responders, it states the fire started in the battery, after a small explosion. The damage looks right, with the battery running into the front and rear compartment, manly down the right hand side of the car. There are no pictures of the battery to assess the damage., but emergency responders were that concerned about it, they had it removed and submerged in water.
 

There also appears little fire damage to the passenger compartment, with that protected with a fire walls between it and the battery. The only other plausible cause, would be a 2 seat fire, which implies arson, which is extremely doubtful in such a public location. 
 

The battery removal is an external job, and the Porsche technicians would have advised emergency responders that it was possible. Yes the battery is damaged, but the removal was done under a controlled situation, responders in place, hose-lines ready and SCBA can easily be donned, so a calculated low risk, that allows the battery to be placed in a water dam, to prevent any further ignition, fire spread and damage to anything else.

 

This link is to the emergency response guide, from the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association), to dealing with a Porsche car.

 

https://www.nfpa.org/education-and-research/emergency-response/emergency-response-guides/porsche

[Georgealbert]

53 minutes ago, DTL2014 said:

i thought foam was the appropriate extinguisher for electrical fires? can we assume the fire services know the correct procedures for how to deal with an EV fire?

Using water on EV fires is a common practice and works better than foam, due the chemical reactions within battery.

 

If you have an electrical fire at home, please do not use water or foam. Foam is made up of water, foam solution and aspirating air, and will conduct electricity. You need to use a dry agent, such as CO2 or dry powder. Also remember that some appliances may hold a stored charged after being turned off.

[ExpatOilWorker]

A few more pictures from yesterday's Porsche fire 🔥. 

 

[mran66]

2 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

It was a Porsche Taycan Turbo EV.

 

Turbo EV - Porsche must have run out of imagination giving names for their EV...would have expected EV to have been given a name that is relevant for EV instead of something for internal combustion engine cars. Go figure

 

[KhunLA]

Fire blankets for EV fires.  Fire fighting 101 ... deprive it oxygen.   Never was rocket science ... YT has plenty of vids showing fire blankets.

 

Now just waiting for the .. "what if" comments 

Edited May 25 by KhunLA

[vinny41]

Audi and Porsche are recalling 6,676 electric vehicles due to a potential fire risk. At the heart of the issue is a possible leak inside of the battery that could lead to arcing and then a thermal event. Audi and Porsche plan to have dealers inspect each car and then go to the costly measure of replacing the entire battery if needed.

According to Porsche, it first became aware of this issue back in 2022 due to reports of “reduced insulation values” in some Taycan batteries.

https://www.carscoops.com/2023/09/porsche-taycan-and-audi-e-tron-gt-recalled-over-potential-fire-risk/

[Thingamabob]

Not the first EV to catch fire..

[ExpatOilWorker]

This was the 3rd confirmed EV fire 🔥 in Thailand. 

With the current sales numbers we should statistically see a fire ever 3 months onwards. 

Keep in mind, EVs are still only 0.5% of the cars on Thai roads.

 

EV fire 🔥 Tracking - Thailand

1. Tesla 3 - September 20th, 2021, power pole collision Rama 2.

2. BYD Seal - March 14th, 2024, Ratchaburi roll-over.

3. Porsche Taycan - May 24th, 2024, battery explosion, Paradise Car Showroom. 

[Georgealbert]

33 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Fire blankets for EV fires.  Fire fighting 101 ... deprive it oxygen.   Never was rocket science ... YT has plenty of vids showing fire blankets.

 

Now just waiting for the .. "what if" comments 

Yes one of the ways an EV fire can be dealt with. Plenty of equipment available and sometimes a solution needs improvised like in this case, ranging from large blankets, water dam systems, to high pressure water injections systems.

 

EVs are no bigger risk that many of the goods transported on roads worldwide, and responders have developed policies and techniques for all risks, EVs, NGV, LPG, ICE and dangerous goods that are transported, explosives, gases, flammables, corrosives, toxic substances, oxidises and radiation.

 

Emergency services and manufacturers work to produce guidelines, like posted above. EVs are just another hazard of normal life, and this minor fire was one of many car fires in Thailand, on that day, and only really got reported because it was a Porsche.

 

Edited May 25 by Georgealbert

[PETERTHEEATER]

5 hours ago, DTL2014 said:

i thought foam was the appropriate extinguisher for electrical fires? can we assume the fire services know the correct procedures for how to deal with an EV fire?

Firefighters in Sweden have found the use of strong brine effective in fighting EV fires. It is conductive and drains the battery. 

[transam]

3 minutes ago, PETERTHEEATER said:

Firefighters in Sweden have found the use of strong brine effective in fighting EV fires. It is conductive and drains the battery. 

That is interesting info..........

[Startmeup]

9 hours ago, stoner said:

worth 10 mil because of 300 percent tax. 

There is a massive glut of Taycans in the UK. Im sure they are a great car if you want an EV, just expect to lose well over 50% of your money after 2-3 years ownership, thats if you can find a buyer at all. They look great, thats alot of bang for your buck but nobody wants to touch them for some reason

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/16753392

Cant say I've heard of many go up on fire though. 

[Georgealbert]

26 minutes ago, PETERTHEEATER said:

Firefighters in Sweden have found the use of strong brine effective in fighting EV fires. It is conductive and drains the battery. 

Thanks, good information, I have not seen before.

 

Seems also that a brine system was also demonstrated last year by a Norwegian ferry company.
 

Battery Briner, which is a spin-off from Faeroese maritime support and transport company Skansi Offshore, and this system is designed for use on car ferries

 

https://local.fo/faroese-invent-new-method-of-extinguishing-lithium-battery-fires/?amp

 

https://www.emobility-engineering.com/extinguishing-lithium-battery-fires/

[JBChiangRai]

5 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

In all reports, from witnesses and responders, it states the fire started in the battery, after a small explosion. The damage looks right, with the battery running into the front and rear compartment, manly down the right hand side of the car. There are no pictures of the battery to assess the damage., but emergency responders were that concerned about it, they had it removed and submerged in water.
 

There also appears little fire damage to the passenger compartment, with that protected with a fire walls between it and the battery. The only other plausible cause, would be a 2 seat fire, which implies arson, which is extremely doubtful in such a public location. 
 

The battery removal is an external job, and the Porsche technicians would have advised emergency responders that it was possible. Yes the battery is damaged, but the removal was done under a controlled situation, responders in place, hose-lines ready and SCBA can easily be donned, so a calculated low risk, that allows the battery to be placed in a water dam, to prevent any further ignition, fire spread and damage to anything else.

 

This link is to the emergency response guide, from the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association), to dealing with a Porsche car.

 

https://www.nfpa.org/education-and-research/emergency-response/emergency-response-guides/porsche

 

I think the only place that a fire could happen on that scale is the battery. However, it's not what I would expect to see.  It should have been a lot more violent, and as for removing the battery, something is not quite right here.  You can't remove the battery without putting it on a ramp and supporting the battery whilst undoing lots of bolts and wire connections.  It's not a simple plug and play device.  I can't imagine any mechanic wanting to go underneath that car and start removing bolts, maybe it's something they plan to do in the future.

 

I had the exact same model of Taycan for 2 years here bought new from the official Porsche importer. 

 

Porsche use NMC batteries (Lithium Manganese Cobalt & Nickel) for their high energy density, they are also the most likely to suffer thermal runaway and I think Porsche has had their fair share of fires.

 

4 hours ago, mran66 said:

 

Turbo EV - Porsche must have run out of imagination giving names for their EV...would have expected EV to have been given a name that is relevant for EV instead of something for internal combustion engine cars. Go figure

 

 

Every petrol Porsche now has turbos so they decided to continue to use the turbo nomenclature to signify faster, generally the performance increases with

no suffix

S (faster)

GTS (slightly faster still but loaded with driver goodies and lowered suspension)

4S (fast & 4WD)

Turbo (faster still)

Turbo S (even faster)

Turbo GT (mental)

[Georgealbert]

39 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

 

I think the only place that a fire could happen on that scale is the battery. However, it's not what I would expect to see.  It should have been a lot more violent, and as for removing the battery, something is not quite right here.  You can't remove the battery without putting it on a ramp and supporting the battery whilst undoing lots of bolts and wire connections.  It's not a simple plug and play device.  I can't imagine any mechanic wanting to go underneath that car and start removing bolts, maybe it's something they plan to do in the future.

 

I don’t believe the whole battery was involved, and there seems to be no evidence from the pictures of thermal runaway, no reports of jets of flame, but again difficult to comment fully without seeing the damaged battery.

 

The technicians did remove the battery, as it was placed in a portable water dam, but remember they had no concerns about damaging the car, connections, connectors, wires or hoses. In the pictures above there is an axle stand under the front of the car, is this to support the battery when everything is undone, as it is not there when the fire is burning?
 

Remember in an emergency normal practices don’t apply, and improvised solutions found. Also there is no information as to what repairs the car was there for.

 

Found this Taycan battery removal guide online.

 

”Let's remove the car's HV battery from the car. Easy peasy. Follow Porsche's manual. (It says you need some fancy hydraulic trolley to support the battery - but in reality 4 wood pallets will do).

 

Step 0: De-energize HV system. Remove all body panels underneath the car.

Step 1: Drain the coolant. Disconnect one hose going to the radiator at the front of the car, disconnect the two hoses going into the HV battery at the front, and then disconnect one hose going to the motor at the rear. Pry the hose lock with a flat screwdriver it will come out. 

Step 2: Remove the lining in the trunk, there is a lid which you can open and gives you access to the HV connector for the rear motor. Remove the 3 screws and undo the connector. 

 

Step 3: Undo the HV connector at the front of the battery + 48V connector 

Step 4: Remove all the bolts holding the battery to the frame. Including 4 screws that bolt the battery to the rear subframe (and the earth wire, next to the rear right wheel)

 

Congratulations, now you got the battery out of the car:

Edited May 25 by Georgealbert

[JBChiangRai]

IIRC, the battery is under the floor of the car, but there is a gap between the rear seats and front seats to allow a deeper footwell.  It's possible that the fire was confined to one end of the battery pack and couldn't thermally run away to the other half.

 

NMC batteries rarely have small fires, but when they go they really go.

 

That battery chemistry is not something I am comfortable with.  I recently moved to a BYD Seal Performance which is fast enough, handles well but with an overall lower grip, I would say it's 80% of the car at 15% of the price.  The BYD has a far safer battery chemistry being Lithium Iron Phosphate.

[JBChiangRai]

9 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

IIRC, the battery is under the floor of the car, but there is a gap between the rear seats and front seats to allow a deeper footwell.  It's possible that the fire was confined to one end of the battery pack and couldn't thermally run away to the other half.

 

NMC batteries rarely have small fires, but when they go they really go.

 

That battery chemistry is not something I am comfortable with.  I recently moved to a BYD Seal Performance which is fast enough, handles well but with an overall lower grip, I would say it's 80% of the car at 15% of the price.  The BYD has a far safer battery chemistry being Lithium Iron Phosphate.

 

I'd add an addendum to that, the Seal Performance is 100% of the fun of the Taycan, maybe more. I am less worried about crashing it.  I am also comfortable parking it and leaving it which I rarely was with the Taycan.

 

What I miss most of all about the Taycan is no longer being allowed to park in the Supercar parking at Central Plaza or Central Festival that really sucks.

[Georgealbert]

26 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

IIRC, the battery is under the floor of the car, but there is a gap between the rear seats and front seats to allow a deeper footwell.  It's possible that the fire was confined to one end of the battery pack and couldn't thermally run away to the other half.

 

NMC batteries rarely have small fires, but when they go they really go.

 

That battery chemistry is not something I am comfortable with.  I recently moved to a BYD Seal Performance which is fast enough, handles well but with an overall lower grip, I would say it's 80% of the car at 15% of the price.  The BYD has a far safer battery chemistry being Lithium Iron Phosphate.

Yes agree, this is not what you expect with EV thermal runaway, but the information and pictures give a very limited view of what happened. Some of the details are lost in translation, and this fire proved fairly easy to extinguish, and although the car is a write off, the fire damage was limited.
 

I think it only made the media because it was a “10 million” Porsche, as the headlines gets people’s attention?

 

Hope you enjoy the new BYD Seal.

Edited May 25 by Georgealbert

[worgeordie]

Just cancelled the one I had on order  .....going to buy a bicycle 🙄

 

regards Worgeordie 

[Georgealbert]

22 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

Just cancelled the one I had on order  .....going to buy a bicycle 🙄

 

regards Worgeordie 

Porsche do make an e-bike, 55555

 

Edited May 25 by Georgealbert