Our hearts sink a little every time we discover news of an electric car fire.
Will others also go up in flames? Will the media turn it into an anti-EV frenzy, like they did with the Chevy Volt?
Reports of an electric Smart ForTwo going up in flames at a home in Florida brought all those thoughts flooding back.
Except, in this case, the car wasn't electric.
According to news-press, a fire in the garage of a home in Estero, Florida, was believed to have been started by either an electric car charger, or on-board an electric car itself.
The fire caused $200,000 in damage to the $500,000 home, though luckily nobody was injured. The garage and its contents, including a Smart ForTwo and a battery charger, was destroyed.
Fire department spokeswoman Susan Lindenmuth described the incident as very rare, but as of Tuesday, no exact cause of the fire had been determined.
Not an electric car...
However, it now appears that not only did the Smart itself not start the blaze, but the vehicle in question was a regular, gasoline-powered model.
Estero-based Edward Ellyatt, member on the BMW ActiveE Facebook group, reveals that it wasn't even an electric car charger that started the fire.
"It was a part time resident who left a battery charger on his lead acid start battery so his battery would not be dead when he returned for tourist season."
So while the fire did involve a Smart car and a battery, initial suspicions that it was an electric vehicle seem to be unfounded--which goes to show just how volatile electric car news can be right now.
And for those dreading further news of electric car fires... you can start breathing again.
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