Electric Car Fire At New Hackensack Apartment Complex Takes 7 Hours To Douse

A Hackensack firefighter was injured in an electric car blaze that took nearly seven hours to fully douse in the parking garage of a new apartment complex, authorities said.

The fire broke out around 1:30 a.m. Friday, March 8, in the lower-level parking garage of The Walcott, a six-story apartment building on Main Street in Hackensack.
Photo Credit: *HACKENSACK FD*

Jerry DeMarco

03/09/2024 2:41 p.m.

The firefighter was released after being treated at Hackensack University Medical Center for an undisclosed injury sustained at The Walcott, which opened a year ago on Main Street.

The fire broke out around 1:30 a.m. Friday, March 8, in the lower-level parking garage of the six-story building.

Firefighters quickly located an Audi Q5 SUV and immediately knocked down the flames.

"Additional precautions and measures were required due to the fact that it was an electric vehicle, which do not extinguish easily as regular vehicles do," the department reported in a social media post.

Lithium-ion batteries that power electric cars can rupture in a fire, igniting a superheated chemical reaction so hot that it's difficult to extinguish quickly.

"Firefighters operated on scene for about 7hrs until the vehicle was fully extinguished and able to be safely removed from below the apartments," the department wrote.

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