- A Lucid Air driver swerved to avoid an accident but ended up hitting a pole, puncturing the battery and causing a fire.
- The fire required multiple crews to put out and reignited even after initial suppression.
- The accident and fire resulted in public transportation delays and raise questions about the effectiveness of current EV firefighting techniques.
A Lucid Air driver appears to have experienced the old adage that no good deed goes unpunished in one of the wildest ways possible. A series of events led reportedly them to run into a traffic pole and the result was a completely burned-up sedan.
Now, authorities are investigating the situation and probably hoping that the Lucid doesn’t catch on fire long after it was put out… again.
More: Firefighters Use Over 36,000 Gallons Of Water To Extinguish Burning Tesla
The accident happened at the intersection of Aleja Niepodległości and Antoniego Madalińskiego Street in Poland on the morning of April 19th. Reports from the country say that the driver in question successfully avoided a collision with another vehicle. At the same time, they ended up hitting a traffic pole in the midst of the intersection.
As a result, the Lucid seemingly experienced a battery case puncture which led to a fire. That fire obliterated the sedan. The blaze was so bad that the shell was barely recognizable afterwards. According to Polsatnews, the fire required three different fire crews to put out. As Carscoops has documented time and time again, EV fires aren’t always easy to put out.
In this instance, a video captures the Lucid reigniting in a fireball after it seemingly had been extinguished. Moreover, since EV batteries tend to hard to put out, a firefighter is seen in the midst of dousing the sedan with water when it reignites.
The incident, coupled with the time required to safely manage the vehicle, led to multiple bus and train delays. According to multiple sources, including Miejeski Reporter, the driver received medical attention, but fortunately, there are no indications of any serious injuries.
More: Lucid Air EV Catches Fire While Parked At Test Drive Event
As the threat of electric vehicle fires continues to be a problematic issue, the way firefighters deal with it could change. In response, firefighters are exploring new techniques to effectively extinguish such fires. One notable instance occurred in January, where a team successfully used a blanket to suppress flames on a Jaguar EV
This method represents a less invasive approach compared to the drastic measure of submerging the entire vehicle in a pool at a wrecking yard. Notably, all of this information on the Lucid incident in Poland comes through Google Translate so some nuance might be lost in the language gap.