‘Electric car’ explodes in driveway and sets Merseyside family home on fire after ‘battery failure’
A family home was set on fire after their ‘electric car’ reportedly exploded while they were in their driveway.
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service rushed to a family home in Bromborough, Wirral, at around 10pm on Saturday evening after receiving reports that a car was on fire. The fire was extinguished in just ten minutes.
The Liverpool Echo reported that the facade of the two-storey family home was blackened by the fire and that the garage had also previously caught fire.
A man told the Echo that after speaking to the car’s owners this morning, they believed the cause of the fire was a ‘faulty electric car battery’, although this has not been officially confirmed by the fire brigade.
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service rushed to a family home in Bromborough, Wirral, at around 10pm on Saturday evening after receiving reports that a car was on fire. The fire was extinguished in just ten minutes
He said: ‘I was lying in bed and heard a popping sound. It sounded like fireworks going off.
‘I went outside with my mum and there were bright lights with a car in flames across the road.
‘The owner was in the house when it happened, but got out. She told me this morning that the car was only a month old and had a thousand miles on it, and that the car’s battery was defective.’
One woman said: ‘I heard tires popping and people coming out to see what was going on. Someone started screaming and people rushed out to help.
The Liverpool Echo reported that the facade of the two-storey family home was blackened by the fire and that the garage had also previously caught fire
“I saw it happen and it looked like the fire was coming from where they were charging the car. By the end the whole place was on fire. It was so scary and my little girl was screaming because she thought something had happened to our house.”
A spokesperson for Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service said: ‘Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service (MFRS) attended an incident at Cooks Acre, Bromborough, on the night of Saturday, September 23.
‘Staff were alerted at 9.51pm and were on scene at 9.57pm. Three fire engines were present. Upon arrival, crews found a two-story detached home with the garage well lit. A car in the driveway was also burned out.
‘Two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus quickly entered the building to fight the fire. The fire was extinguished at 10:10 p.m.
‘MFRS carried out fire safety checks on properties either side of the property and left the scene at 12.21pm.’