wafted in from Paris? No, Luton Airport

[dsc]

[...]In 50+ years of driving, I had three fires in petrol cars. All put out with my own fire extinguisher and minimal damage. Not one fire with Diesel. There could be fire risk with the electrics but it would have to burn for quite some time even for the interior to catch fire.[...]

Was this on stationary non running cars or moving cars? I can get that electrics can cause stuff to catch on fire, but aren't most materials on cars now fire retardant / self extinguishing? unless it's the bloody gas tank I can't see how a car would burn down (maybe if you left it slowly burning for hours on end, it would eventually catch something inside that's flammable, like a blanket or smth put inside the car, but not part of the car).

[vetran]

in data we trust!

https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/man...t-rate-for-evs

Data obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed that in 2019 the London Fire Brigade dealt with 54 electric vehicle fires compared with 1,898 petrol and diesel fires.

Vehicle registration numbers from the Department for Transport (DfT) show there are 50,000-plus plug-in cars licensed in the capital out of a total 4.63 million licensed cars.

Looking at the London Fire Brigade data, that would suggest an incident rate of 0.04% for petrol and diesel car fires, while the rate for plug-in vehicle is more than double at 0.1%. So far this year, there have been 1,021 petrol and diesel fires and 27 EV fires in the capital.

[SueEllen]

Lies, damn lies and statistics!

[Mordac]

Fire chief says it was most likely a diesel which started the fire.

Anyone has any idea what can trigger a fire in a stationary non running diesel?

You cannot ignite diesel with a naked flame*, the fuel has to be mixed with compressed air and then heated - normal spark plugs don't work in diesels. (I had a diesel way back when they were cheaper to insure for young drivers, which I don't think is the case these days, and that's all I can remember.)

*And yes I did try this at home, so you don't have to.

[Paddy]

Was this on stationary non running cars or moving cars? I can get that electrics can cause stuff to catch on fire, but aren't most materials on cars now fire retardant / self extinguishing? unless it's the bloody gas tank I can't see how a car would burn down (maybe if you left it slowly burning for hours on end, it would eventually catch something inside that's flammable, like a blanket or smth put inside the car, but not part of the car).

All my fires were petrol leaks from the carburetors. The one a few years ago was on another persons car in a covered car park, It was caused by a leaking fuel line.

[dsc]

You cannot ignite diesel with a naked flame*, the fuel has to be mixed with compressed air and then heated - normal spark plugs don't work in diesels. (I had a diesel way back when they were cheaper to insure for young drivers, which I don't think is the case these days, and that's all I can remember.)

*And yes I did try this at home, so you don't have to.

Exactly why it's hard for me to understand what actually starts a fire in a stationary non running diesel

[woody1]

Doesn't diesel burn if it soaks into a flammable material like paper/cloth/carpet? Seem to recall our builder starting a bonfire with diesel to burn old timber.

[Mordac]

Exactly why it's hard for me to understand what actually starts a fire in a stationary non running diesel

Diesel or petrol require an ignition source (arson is a possible candidate, obviously) but a damaged lithium battery doesn't, and there must be a lot of EVs out there which have taken a knock or two over the years. A lithium fire will burn very hot and for a very long time, especially if there is a whole bank of hundreds in close confinement. Certainly enough to spread to neighbouring ICE vehicles, whose tanks will explode in the intense heat.
If it was an EV fire there are many reasons why certain interested parties might not want it widely known. The sales targets for fully electric cars, perhaps?

[Dactylion]

Poor sods. Bad enough that your car's gone up in smoke, but stuck in Luton?

@suity Get the kettle on - You could earn a bob or two here!

[Gibbon]

Diesel Engine Runaway - What it is, and how to stop it - Team-BHP