Electric-Car Era Threatens Firefighters with New Roadside Risks (Corrected)

Firefighters doused the blazing Tesla Inc. Model X’s battery pack, and then company engineers removed about one-quarter of its power cells before the vehicle was deemed safe to tow off of a California freeway.

That didn’t prevent the powerful and highly flammable lithium-ion battery cells from reigniting. The car caught fire twice more within 24 hours of the March 23 fatal crash, and again six days later, according to a safety bulletin from the fire department in Mountain View.

Fires on electric vehicles are rare, but the volatile chemistry of their batteries and the need for special training on how ...