On August 1, 2024, a serious fire broke out in an underground parking lot of an apartment building in Incheon, Seoul, South Korea. Part of the fire was captured by security cameras in the parking lot.
The video shows that at around 6:15 am, white smoke was seen coming from a white Mercedes-Benz EQE350 electric car parked in the lot. Then, with a bang, the flames erupted and spread through the basement.
After the fire broke out, about 120 residents were evacuated. The fire injured 23 residents of the building, including seven children under the age of 10, who were hospitalized for smoke inhalation. Fortunately, none of the victims were in critical condition. In addition, the fire damaged about 140 other cars parked in the lot.
The fire damaged approximately 140 cars.
Seoul’s fire department deployed 117 firefighters and 80 fire engines to the scene. By noon the same day, the fire was under control.
It took the fire department more than eight hours to extinguish the blaze.
Following this incident, Mercedes-Benz Korea expressed its “deep regret”. “We express our deep regret to the residents of the apartment complex and the surrounding area affected by the recent incident,” Mercedes-Benz Korea said in a statement to Yonhap News Agency.
Mercedes-Benz Korea affirmed that it takes this issue very seriously and expressed its commitment to fully cooperate with the authorities to thoroughly inspect the vehicle and determine the fundamental cause of the fire.
“As the investigation is still ongoing, we cannot provide further details at this time, and we ask for your understanding,” the representative said. Mercedes-Benz Korea currently refuses to comment when asked to identify the model and provide details about the battery in the electric car.
This incident once again highlights the danger of electric car fires in underground parking lots. “We need to treat this accident as an opportunity to come up with preventive measures,” said Professor Lee Yong-jae of the Fire Department at Kyungmin University. “When electric cars catch fire, they can explode and are 10 times harder to extinguish than conventional gasoline or diesel cars. Outdoor parking lots for electric cars are needed, or sensors can be installed to detect fires early. There are also suggestions to install hoses with a greater water flow at parking spots for electric cars.”
The Korean authorities are still investigating the cause of this incident.
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