THUNDER BAY — Fires involving hybrid-electric vehicles can be particularly difficult to extinguish, as a city resident discovered this week.
The owner of a 2025-model HEV saw his vehicle destroyed and his detached garage severely damaged by a fire Monday evening on Normandy Court near 20th Side Road.
But the man told Newswatch he's "very appreciative" of the timely response of Thunder Bay Fire Rescue and the firefighters' ability to save his house from significant damage.
The cause of the fire has not been confirmed.
However, the owner said that within 20 minutes of the vehicle's block heater being plugged in for the night, the garage was engulfed in flames.
His wife happened to be looking out the window, saw the fire, and called in the alarm.
The fire department reported that the HEV "continued to burn for some time despite the significant amounts of water applied over a period of one-and-a-half hours."
Hybrid vehicles uses lithium-ion batteries.
Deputy Fire Chief Martin Hynna said the fire department's investigation isn't completed, and he can't relate the cause of the fire specifically to any issues with the electric part of the HEV.
But he said "When a lithium-iron battery – no matter what the size is – shorts, is damaged, or possibly charged with a non-manufacturer's charger, or tampered with, the fire can be more difficult to put out."
Hynna explained that due to the structure of these batteries, "a great amount of heat is created in the damage, and the chemical reaction that happens within the battery causes the fire to be hotter and last longer."
A spokesperson for the Office of the Fire Marshall has said lithium-iron batteries are still an evolving technology for the public, manufacturers and firefighters across the province.
"Effective suppression and control techniques for fire that result from electric vehicles are an evolving science," Sean Driscoll stated in an article posted on the website of the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs.
He said new suppression and control techniques for fires in EVs continue to emerge, and that the OFM is working with partners to assist firefighters in their responses to these incidents.
The owner of the HEV destroyed in the Normandy Court fire is advising people to use caution when plugging in a vehicle in an enclosed space.
"This fire could have been a lot worse had the garage been attached, or had fire services not been nearby with a nearby hydrant," he said.
