The same report also detailed the crash itself, noting that the sedan was traveling at 116MPH before it collided twice with a residential wall, catching fire the second time around. Tesla has since instituted a speed limiting feature to prevent these kinds of incidents.

As The Verge observed, there have been fires like this in the past. The battery in the Model X from a Mountain View crash reignited five days after sitting in an impound lot, while actress Mary McCormack captured her husband Michael Morris' Model S erupting into flames despite the absence of a collision. This may be the most prominent example, however.

Tesla has declined to comment. However, the report doesn't necessarily indicate brand-specific design flaws. Many portable device owners will attest that batteries don't always need obvious provocation to catch fire -- sustained pressure or other hard-to-predict factors can trigger a blaze at unexpected moments. While there is a chance that Tesla could have a role to play, it might be difficult to prevent reignition when the required chemical reactions can take hours or days to kick in.</s>A Tesla car's battery that ignited after a fatal crash reignited twice after it had been fully extinguished at the accident scene.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) yesterday released its preliminary report into the Tesla Model S that crashed into a wall at high speed in Fort Lauderdale on May 8. The vehicle burst into flames, killing two teens and injuring a third.

The report notes that Fort Lauderdale Fire and Rescue Department found the Tesla "fully engulfed in flames" at the crash scene and extinguished it with 200 to 300 gallons of water and foam.

They also found portions of the lithium-ion battery had separated from the vehicle. These were not visibly on fire but responders applied water and foam to the debris.

When they were loading the car for removal, the Tesla's damaged lithium-ion battery reignited and was quickly extinguished, but then it reignited again as it arrived at the storage yard.

Something similar occurred to a Model X's battery following a fatal crash into a road barrier in Mountain View in March.

The 400-volt lithium-ion high-voltage battery was breached during the collision and a fire started after the crash.

The NTSB's report into that crash noted that after the fire had been extinguished and the car was taken to storage, the battery "emanated smoke and audible venting" but didn't ignite. However, five days later it reignited and had to be extinguished again.

The Model S, which was being driven by Barrett Riley, was traveling at 116mph three seconds before the collision, according to data the NTSB obtained from Tesla's restraints control module.

The crash occurred on a street with a 30mph speed limit. Riley lost control of the vehicle after attempting an overtake maneuver.

The vehicle erupted in flames after hitting the same wall in front of a residence twice, after which it re-entered the roadway and came to rest as it struck a metal light pole.

The NTSB is still gathering information about the systems and maintenance records of the Model S in search of more data sources that could potentially be recovered after the fire.

It will also look at the procedures used to extinguish the battery fire and to remove and store the car after the crash.

According to Electrek, Tesla just last week rolled out a new speed-limiter feature in a software update and in release notes dedicated the feature to Riley, who was given the vehicle by his father.

The speed-limit mode allows the vehicle's maximum speed to be set between 50mph and 90mph, or 80km/h and 145 km/h.

A report by Sun-Sentinal in May quotes Riley's aunt saying his father had installed speed-control technology on his son's Model S to limit its maximum speed to 85mph.

He opted for the speed limit after Riley was booked in March for traveling at 112mph.

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It also slightly tweaked the pricing and options for dual-motor AWD variants.</s>A Tesla Model S involved in a May 8 fatal high-speed crash in Florida reignited twice after firefighters extinguished a fire in the electric vehicle, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report on Tuesday.

The report said the vehicle was traveling 116 miles per hour seconds before it crashed into a metal light pole. The Fort Lauderdale Fire Department found the vehicle fully engulfed in flames and extinguished the vehicle fire using 200 gallons to 300 gallons of water and foam, the NTSB said.

The report said during removal of the car from the scene, the battery reignited and was quickly extinguished. “Upon arrival at the storage yard, the battery reignited again,” the report said, and was again quickly put out.

There have been other reported cases of crashed Tesla battery packs reigniting, including after a fatal Tesla crash in March in California.

Tesla declined to comment on the report, but has said its vehicles are much less likely to catch fire than gasoline-powered vehicles.</s>The battery in a 2014 Tesla Model S re-ignited two times after it was involved in a fatal and high-speed crash in Florida in May, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report released Tuesday.

The NTSB report said the electric vehicle was traveling 116 miles per hour three seconds before its 18-year-old driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed along Seabreeze Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. The driver and a front seat passenger died. A third passenger, who was ejected, survived the crash. The vehicle erupted in flames as the crash unfolded. The Fort Lauderdale Fire and Rescue Department extinguished the vehicle fire using 200 to 300 gallons of water and foam. Firefighters also applied water and foam to the debris, which included small portions of the lithium-ion high-voltage battery that had separated from the vehicle, according to the report.

The battery re-ignited as the vehicle was being loaded for removal from the scene. The fire was quickly extinguished, the NTSB said. However, the battery re-ignited again when the Model S arrived at the storage yard. A local fire department responded to the storage yard and extinguished the fire.

Tesla declined to comment on the NTSB report.

The NTSB says the investigation, which will also include examining the procedures used to extinguish the battery fire and to remove and store the car post-crash, will continue. Tesla does provide information to first responders on how they should handle Tesla vehicles following a collision.

There have been two other fire incidents in recent months involving a Tesla battery. Six days after a fatal crash in California involving a Tesla Model X, the vehicle’s battery re-ignited three or four times, the Mountain View Fire Department told a local TV news station KTVU. Earlier this month, actress Mary McCormack posted a video on Twitter showing her husband’s Tesla that abruptly burst into flames. Tesla has said it’s investigating the highly unusual event.

Tesla has long contended that design of the battery pack as well as the fortified structure mounted on the floor of the car has a number of protections that prevent it from igniting. For example, the battery pack includes thousands of cells divided in groups and housed in separate modules. Firewalls are between each module and between the battery pack and passenger compartment. The pack is also designed so that if a fire occurs it’s supposed to spread more slowly than it might in a gas car.

Tesla did release a new feature following the fatal crash in Fort Lauderdale that optionally limits the acceleration of Tesla vehicles and allows owners to set a maximum speed limit up to 90 mph. The feature can only be engaged or disengaged with a four-digit pin. A notification is sent to the owner’s mobile device if the vehicle approaches the set maximum speed.</s>A Tesla Inc Model S involved in a May 8 fatal high-speed crash in Florida reignited twice after firefighters extinguished a fire in the electric vehicle, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a preliminary report on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON: A Tesla Inc Model S involved in a May 8 fatal high-speed crash in Florida reignited twice after firefighters extinguished a fire in the electric vehicle, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a preliminary report on Tuesday.

The report said the vehicle was travelling 116 miles per hour seconds before it crashed into a metal light pole. The Fort Lauderdale Fire Department found the vehicle fully engulfed in flames and extinguished the vehicle fire using 200–300 gallons of water and foam, the NTSB said.

The report said during removal of the car from the scene, the battery reignited and was quickly extinguished. "Upon arrival at the storage yard, the battery reignited again," the report said and was again quickly put out. There have been other reported cases of crashed Tesla battery packs reigniting, including after a fatal Tesla crash in March in California. Tesla declined to comment on the report, but has said its vehicles are much less likely to catch fire than gasoline-powered vehicles.</s>According to a new report from federal investigators, a Tesla battery caught fire twice after it was involved in a crash. But given the volatile nature of lithium-ion batteries, perhaps it shouldn't have come as a surprise.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) today released a preliminary report regarding a Tesla Model S that crashed in Florida, killing two and injuring one. The report states that, after extinguishing a fire that consumed the vehicle, the battery again caught fire while being loaded for removal from the scene. The battery caught fire again when it arrived at the storage yard. Both times, the fire was extinguished.

This isn't the first time that a Tesla battery has reignited following a collision. It also happened following a Tesla Model X crash earlier this year in California, which is still under NTSB investigation as well. While that might stoke fear in those not familiar with EVs, reignition isn't only feasible, it's something that needs to be monitored by all parties involved.

Lithium-ion fires can happen for a variety of reasons, but most boil down to heat. EV batteries contain thousands of individual cells, and if even one is punctured, the lithium inside will react violently with water in the air, generating lots of heat and occasionally a fire. If you've ever seen a YouTube video of someone stabbing a phone battery, that's what's happening -- air gets in, reacts with lithium and starts a fire.

That's why batteries contain safeguards to prevent thermal runaway -- swollen batteries are the battery pack doing its best to keep those elements from being exposed to air, even if the battery has already failed but not yet ignited.

The charging and discharging cycles of lithium-ion batteries also generate heat, which is why EV batteries have some serious cooling systems attached -- again, to prevent that heat from creating bigger, fiery-er issues. It's a delicate dance between charging, discharging and mitigating the heat that's produced.

That brings us back to Tesla's battery. Per the Model S emergency response guide, Tesla suggests that responders "consider allowing the battery to burn while protecting exposures." Letting the fire consume the entire battery means all that lithium reacts and eventually stops burning.

But if a fire department arrives and douses the battery to where the fire appears to stop, it might not have fully stopped. Tesla's batteries contain numerous firewalls to slow down the spread of fire and (hopefully) allow people to get as far away as possible, as quickly as possible. But those firewalls also have the side effect of making a fire appear done when it might not be.

It's possible that the fire department or the tow truck operator responsible for hauling it away didn't check for continued exothermic reaction in the battery with a thermal imaging camera -- something Tesla explicitly recommends doing post-fire -- so the heat continued to build in the battery until a set of non-burnt cells popped off and caught fire. And that's likely what happened when the fire ignited once again at the storage yard. The NTSB report doesn't say what safeguards the fire department and tow truck operator implemented following the initial fire that resulted from the crash.

Always treat a gun as if it's loaded, even if it's not; always treat a damaged lithium-ion battery as an immediate fire hazard, even if the fire is seemingly out.

Follow-up fires: Not the first time

The federal government has experience in lithium-ion battery fires, too. After crash testing the then-new Chevrolet Volt in 2011, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that the Volt it tested had caught fire well after the fact. It had similar issues in subsequent lab tests meant to replicate the original conditions.

Eventually, the case was closed. It turns out that the Volt's battery caught fire because the NHTSA's side-into-pole crash test compromised the battery, which was not discharged even though GM's emergency response policy suggested discharging the battery after an accident. The affected battery pack was then subjected to rollover tests, which caused coolant to leak from a burst line. Later, when the crashed Volt was stored outside, the coolant crystallized, causing the short that started the fire.

It just goes to show that no matter how controlled an environment might be, these batteries that are in everything from our phones to our cars should be treated with the utmost care.

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"Unboxing" my Model 3: CNET's own Ashley Esqueda documents her experience picking up her new car.</s>A Tesla Model S electric car that crashed and burned last month in Florida, killing two teenagers, was travelling 116 miles per hour (roughly 187 kmph) three seconds before impact and only slowed to 86 mph (roughly 138 kmph) as the airbags were inflated, according to federal investigators.

The National Transportation Safety Board, in a preliminary report on the crash, also said that the car missed a curve with a 25 mph (roughly 56 kmph) speed limit, crashed into a wall twice, and witnesses reported that it erupted in flames.

The driver and front-seat passenger, both 18, were killed in the May 8 crash in Fort Lauderdale. A rear-seat passenger was ejected and injured.

According to the report released Tuesday, the car's lithium-ion battery re-ignited twice after firefighters extinguished the flames, once as the car was being loaded for removal from the scene and again in a storage yard. The NTSB had said previously that it did not expect the Tesla's semi-autonomous Autopilot system to be a part of the investigation.

It's the second time in two months that the agency has issued a preliminary report in a Tesla crash. On June 7 an agency report said that a Tesla Model X SUV using Autopilot accelerated just before crashing into a California freeway barrier in March, killing its driver.

In both cases, the agency will determine the cause and issue safety recommendations to prevent crashes from happening again. Normally it takes at least a year to finish a final report.

In the Fort Lauderdale crash, witnesses told investigators the driver went into the left lane to pass another vehicle and lost control while trying to return to the right lane. At the crash site on Seabreeze Boulevard, the road curves to the left, and there's a 25 mph warning sign with a flashing beacon.

Two seconds before impact, the Model S sedan was travelling 108 mph when the driver hit the brakes and increased the steering angle. The Tesla went over the curb, crossed the sidewalk and continued to the south, hitting a wall in front of a home, according to the report. When the car's computers gave the command to inflate the airbags, it was travelling 86 mph. The car continued to move and struck the wall a second time, when witnesses said it caught fire, according to the report.

It bounced back onto the road, went over a curb on the opposite side of the street, hit a light pole and stopped in a driveway, the report stated.

The NTSB, working with local police, found from data stored by the car's computers that both front-seat passengers were wearing seatbelts.

Fort Lauderdale firefighters put out the flames with 200 to 300 gallons of water and foam. But as the car was being loaded for removal from the site, the battery reignited and was quickly extinguished. It also reignited at a storage yard, and firefighters had to be called.

In the California crash, the battery also reignited several times, drawing interest from the NTSB because of the car's new technology. The agency says it will continue to investigate the cause of the crash and the procedures used to put out fires and store the cars.

Batteries like those used by Tesla and other electric cars can catch fire and burn rapidly in a crash, although Tesla has maintained its vehicles catch fire far less often than those powered by gasoline.

A Tesla spokeswoman wouldn't comment on the report regarding the Florida crash. The company has said previously that its battery pack has thousands of cells that are placed in separate modules that have firewalls between them.

Federal authorities also are investigating two other Tesla crashes in California and Utah.

The NTSB normally makes recommendations to other federal agencies such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which has authority to impose regulations and seek recalls.</s>WASHINGTON: A Tesla Inc Model S involved in a May 8 fatal high-speed crash in Florida reignited twice after firefighters extinguished a fire in the electric vehicle, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a preliminary report on Tuesday.

The report said the vehicle was traveling 116 miles (187 km) per hour seconds before it crashed into a metal light pole. The Fort Lauderdale Fire Department found the vehicle fully engulfed in flames and extinguished the vehicle fire using 200–300 gallons (around 750-1,100 liters) of water and foam, the NTSB said.

The report said during removal of the car from the scene, the battery reignited and was quickly extinguished. "Upon arrival at the storage yard, the battery reignited again," the report said, and was again quickly put out.

Tesla declined to comment on the report, but has said its vehicles are much less likely to catch fire than gasoline-powered vehicles.

There have been other reported cases of crashed Tesla battery packs reigniting, including after a fatal Tesla crash in March in California.

In the California crash, the battery reignited five days after the crash in an impound lot and was extinguished by the San Mateo Fire Department.

NTSB said its investigation into the Florida crash that killed two teenagers in the vehicle "will also include examining the procedures used to extinguish the battery fire and to remove and store the car postcrash."

Tesla says its vehicle battery packs rarely incur significant damage and the pack is designed that in the event of a fire it would spread more slowly than a gasoline-vehicle fire. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk has said "there should be absolutely zero doubt that it is safer to power a car with a battery than a large tank of highly flammable liquid."

The NTSB said last week it was sending a technical specialist to review Tesla's examination of a battery fire in West Hollywood, California after actress Mary McCormack posted a video of her husband’s Tesla emitting flames. No one was injured.

The NTSB said that Tesla had shared information about the West Hollywood incident. Tesla said it was investigating.

Earlier this year, the NTSB confirmed it was investigating an August 2017 Tesla battery fire in Lake Forest, California, after an owner lost control and ran the vehicle into his garage.

The NTSB and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are investigating several crashes involving the use of Tesla's driver assistance system Autopilot including in the fatal crash in California in March.</s>The battery in a Tesla Inc. Model S car involved in a fatal crash in Florida last month reignited twice after firefighters extinguished the initial blaze that consumed the vehicle on impact, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

The report, released Tuesday, is part of the federal agency’s examination of the fire in the electric car’s lithium-ion battery and the emergency response to it. According to the report, the Tesla vehicle was traveling at 116 miles an hour seconds before it...</s>The battery in a Tesla Inc. Model S car involved in a fatal crash in Florida last month reignited twice after firefighters extinguished the initial blaze that consumed the vehicle on impact, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

The report, released Tuesday, is part of the federal agency’s examination of the fire in the electric car’s lithium-ion battery and the emergency response to it. According to the report, the Tesla vehicle was traveling at 116 miles an hour seconds before it lost control near a sharp turn where the speed limit was 30 mph and the advised speed was speed was 25 mph. Roadside warning signs include a flashing beacon.

The NTSB is examining several crashes involving Tesla TSLA, +2.70% vehicles, including a fatal crash in March near San Francisco that prompted questions about the safety of the company’s Autopilot driver-assistance system. The NTSB’s preliminary report on that incident, which was released this month, said that Autopilot had prompted the driver to grab the steering wheel more than 15 minutes before the collision, but apparently not in the moments before the crash.

The NTSB said when it initiated the investigation into the Florida crash that it didn’t expect to look at Autopilot because it didn’t seem that the system had been engaged. The agency has been looking at how battery fires in electric vehicles can be particularly challenging to emergency responders because they tend to reignite.

An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
The US National Transportation Safety Board reveals the lithium ion battery on a Tesla Model S involved in a double-fatality crash in Florida reignited twice after initially being extinguished by firefighters. It also reveals the vehicle was traveling at 116mph when the accident occurred; Tesla has introduced speed limiters on their cars as a result.