Lordstown Motors confirmed this week that a “non-salable” vehicle it was keeping in storage at its Ohio production facility caught fire, damaging four other vehicles. Fortunately, no people were injured as a result of the blaze, and the building the electric truck was being held in suffered no damage.
The fire started at around 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, according to Travis Eastham, the chief of the Lordstown Fire Department, who spoke to Business Journal Daily. Both the fire department and Lordstown Motors say they are investigating the cause of the incident.
The department was assisted by firefighters from three different jurisdictions, mainly for their water supply said Eastham. Due to the energy-dense nature of their batteries, putting out fires in electric vehicles requires a much larger amount of water than an internal combustion vehicle.
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Indeed, the fire burned so intensely that Eastham described the Endurance as a total loss. “There’s nothing left of the truck,” he said, adding that the fire was large enough to damage four other vehicles, but the building these vehicles were being stored in was spared.
The Endurance pickup that caught fire was described as having been used specifically for crash tests, which is why it was non-salable even before the incident. The four other vehicles that were damaged had also been used in crash testing, and were described as having already been “wrecked” before the fire.
Even though the fire was not particularly costly to Lordstown Motors, a company that is currently strapped for cash, it remains a noteworthy incident. While the cause of the fire remains unknown, if it was due to the crash testing, then it may have wider implications.
That’s likely unwelcome news for Lordstown Motors, which warned of a possible bankruptcy earlier this year, and said it may have to end production of the Endurance pickup if a funding dispute between it and its new owner, Foxconn, cannot be resolved. For its part, the Taiwanese tech giant had this to say.
“Foxconn is aware of and currently investigating the recent incident that occurred at our Ohio facility,” a spokesperson said. “The safety and well-being of our employees, contractors, and neighbors is our first priority, and we are thankful for the successful efforts of the Lordstown Fire Department.”
