Apparently this is supposed to be a growing concern moving forward, as EVs don’t deal as well with fires, and their increased weight also cuts into the safety margin before a fire-weakened parking garage collapses.

https://www.firehouse.com/operations-training/article/53063898/challenges-during-electric-vehicle-fires-in-open-closed-parking-garages

EV fires’ extreme temperatures

We will see more and more EVs, particularly with the nation’s most ambitious climate control regulations to date: Two-thirds of new passenger cars and a quarter of new heavy-duty trucks that are sold in the United States are to be all-electric by 2032.

Concerns in the fire service about EVs and open and closed parking garages are increasing as a result of what has occurred in the United States and elsewhere in the world. These incidents involved hundreds of automobiles, injuries, severe structural damage and structure collapse. One video of an EV fire in a parking garage revealed that a significant fire that involved three vehicles developed in no more than three minutes. The fire was too large to extinguish with any portable fire extinguishers as soon as it self-vented from the vehicle of origin.

Something else we must consider: Parking garages could be at risk of collapse as a result of the heavier weight of EVs compared with conventional automobiles.

As a reminder, fires that involve internal combustion engines, whether gasoline or diesel, are easier to battle than fires that involve EVs. Not to be overlooked: Many fire departments are limited in their response capabilities.

Further, the temperatures of fires that involve internal combustion engines can reach 1,500 degrees F; temperatures of fires that involve EVs can reach 4,500 degrees F and hotter. The temperature of an EV fire is a major concern for parking garages.