ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Video captured by a witness at the scene of a crash along State Road 417 Tuesday shows how fast a fire grew after the Tesla went off the road near the Curry Ford Road exit.
Carlos Rivera, who lives close by, says he heard a loud boom from his kitchen.
“The bang was so loud,” said Rivera. “The neighbors all the way on the other side, they came rushing over here.”
Rivera showed News 6 a piece of the Tesla that broke part of the fence in his backyard. He says it came up over the trees and into his neighborhood.
[TRENDING: It’s OMG hot in Fla. | WHOA! Large shark near swimmers | Become a News 6 Insider]
“I never imagined something would have happened because of the wall being there,” said Rivera. “We thought we were pretty safe.”
The Florida Highway Patrol says three people inside the Tesla were not wearing seat belts and were ejected from the vehicle.
On Tuesday, the medical examiner identified the driver who died as 26-year-old Wesley Loomis.
Trooper Migdalisis Garcia said the two passengers were still in the hospital.
“The last update we have is that they are awake and verbal, but they are still hospitalized,” said Garcia.
Garcia says witnesses told FHP the driver was going well above the 70-mile-per-hour speed limit on S.R. 417 before the crash. As part of their investigation, they are working to determine exactly how fast the Tesla was going before it went off the road and engulfed in flames.
News 6 spoke to Orange County Fire Rescue about what it is like to respond to incidents where electric vehicles catch fire. Rick Broccolo, the Battalion Chief of Special Operations, says it takes more manpower, more water and more time.
“I think the time frame it takes for us to make sure it’s fully extinguished and the resources it takes to do that is the big difference for us,” said Broccolo. “A car fire would be done in 15 minutes. An electrical vehicle fire can take an hour or two to make sure we are fully comfortable with the car being extinguished and cooled down.”
Broccolo says there is also a concern they can reignite.
“If we have one that was damaged in an accident and was on fire, we give specific directions to the tow company on where to take it in the tow yard, make sure it is away from other vehicles,” said Broccolo. “We’ve had that in the last couple of years where we did have to go back out to the junkyard and re-extinguish the fire.”
The Special Operations Team at Orange County Fire Rescue trains for these incidents and what their tactical response will be ahead of time, but the real hands-on experience comes with calls like the one Tuesday afternoon.
Data from the state shows there are under 80,000 electric vehicles registered in Florida. Over 6,000 are registered in Orange County. It’s a fraction of the over 23 million total vehicles registered in the state, according to data given to News 6 by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
However, their popularity is growing. One forecast from EVAdoption predicts sales will keep growing nationwide, and by 2030 EV sales should reach nearly 30% of all new car sales.
OCFR says as the numbers grow, so does their need for training. They plan to have an in-depth, department-wide training this fall.
Firefighters say it’s not just electric vehicle fires they prepare for, it’s all battery incidents. They’re in bikes, scooters, even cell phones. Most fires start from damage or misuse, according to OCFR.
“Over the last few years, we’ve seen a trend with electric vehicles, and not just electric vehicles but anything with lithium-ion batteries. The scooters, the hoverboards, and phones,” said Broccolo. “Special Operations has done a lot of training just with battery fires in general. We’ve taught our people to recognize the batteries, what’s all involved with them, and how we’re going to mitigate the problems.”
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: