Danish ferry fire caused by charging of an Electric Car! Car recharge blamed for ferry fire - AOL News Ferry fire caused by faulty electric car Luckily this fire was picked up and put out in time, but the fact it occurred in the early hours is quite worrysome. The ferry company have now banned the charging of EV's on their ships. One wonders if the above news will stifle the roll out of EV charging bays?
The problem wasn't the car. It was the plug, which apparently was not water-tight, as it should have been on a wet deck. It also should have had a circuit breaker and a GFI. Instead of banning EVs or charging, they should require GFIs.
It wasn't an open deck ferry so there will be no problems with water splashings. The car hall is actually inside the lower decks of the ferry but as they did mention the atmosphere in there can become quite humid in cold conditions. The worry is why the plug wasn't a clean fit. Was he trying to force a Euro plug into a Danish socket? You won't have this problem in the US as you have the one plug type in the US and Canada, but it does beg the question over here. I did ask this question before about standards on plugs now that EVs will become more popular. Will a normal plug converter suffice - the one you use as an international traveller or will it be no good with the high loads that will run through it charging an EV? If not, what can an EV owner do when travelling between countries to ensure safe charging of their vehicle? I know this isn't really applicable to the US owners but in Europe where countries are smaller and most countries have different plug types it could be a future problem as this fire on the ferry shows (maybe). Perhaps the manufacturers didn't imagine that EV owners would take their cars quite so far?
