Last week, my family was awoken in the middle of the night by an incredibly large boom - my wife thought our house had taken a direct hit from lightning. I ran to find the cause, looking into my garage to see my 2018 hybrid completely engulfed in what I could only describe as an inferno. After my family evacuated safely, we noted that our garage door had been blown out to the end of our driveway. Apparently what we heard was quite a powerful explosion in the garage.
The van had been plugged into a 40A JuiceBox, which itself was plugged into a 14-50 NEMA receptacle. It had begun charging around 7:30ish, which means the vehicle had been fully charged for at least 7 hours when the explosion happened shortly after 5AM.
Initial, unofficial assessment from a certified fire investigator indicate that the fire began on the side of our garage where the Pacifica was parked, about halfway back into the garage (near both the JuiceBox and the middle of the vehicle). The evidence indicates that the fire did not start under the hood, though I'm not sure if we have enough info to tell if it could have started somehow at the charging port?
The fire burned incredibly hot, incredibly fast. It warped siding on the house across the street. The fire started in the garage before moving up into the attic above and then throughout the whole roof. After more than an hour of firefighting, the entire roof of our house was destroyed and the house is essentially a total loss.
After seeing previous posts regarding similar fires that fortunately happened in driveways, I'm concerned about what appears to be a growing pattern. Who's to say whether the next fire might happen in a house with bedrooms above the garage? We have not contacted Chrysler, though I'm told by the fire investigator that he is notifying them shortly.
Picture below is of the aftermath. Pacifica is the left car in the garage.
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The van had been plugged into a 40A JuiceBox, which itself was plugged into a 14-50 NEMA receptacle. It had begun charging around 7:30ish, which means the vehicle had been fully charged for at least 7 hours when the explosion happened shortly after 5AM.
Initial, unofficial assessment from a certified fire investigator indicate that the fire began on the side of our garage where the Pacifica was parked, about halfway back into the garage (near both the JuiceBox and the middle of the vehicle). The evidence indicates that the fire did not start under the hood, though I'm not sure if we have enough info to tell if it could have started somehow at the charging port?
The fire burned incredibly hot, incredibly fast. It warped siding on the house across the street. The fire started in the garage before moving up into the attic above and then throughout the whole roof. After more than an hour of firefighting, the entire roof of our house was destroyed and the house is essentially a total loss.
After seeing previous posts regarding similar fires that fortunately happened in driveways, I'm concerned about what appears to be a growing pattern. Who's to say whether the next fire might happen in a house with bedrooms above the garage? We have not contacted Chrysler, though I'm told by the fire investigator that he is notifying them shortly.
Picture below is of the aftermath. Pacifica is the left car in the garage.
