Why did the fires cause such obliteration? The answer starts with the battery.

Each I-Pace can carry roughly 90 kilowatt-hours of stored chemical energy, comparable to about 170 pounds (77 kilograms) of TNT. That energy is distributed across hundreds of lithium-ion pouch cells, which are sealed in flammable electrolyte and separated by polymer films as thin as snack-bag plastic. When any one cell is punctured or overheated -- or set aflame with an incendiary device -- chemical reactions generate more heat than the cell can shed, and neighboring cells follow in a chain reaction. This positive-feedback loop is called "thermal runaway." According to a 2024 study in the Journal of Power Sources, as the battery burns, its temperature can soar past 1,000 degrees Celsius.

At that point, the pack becomes its own furnace. Aluminum sections of the car's floor surrender, liquefying at about 660 degrees C and taking the underbody with them. Magnesium parts -- seat-base frames, the bracket that holds the steering column and the cross-car beam that is located behind the dashboard -- flare bright white. Patches of magnesium can catch fire and burn fiercely. Plastics disappear as vapor, wheels lose their tire, and even the lidar mast on the roof quickly resembles an overcooked marshmallow. A 2025 study in Fire Technology and a 2023 study in Applied Energy noted that the placement of the battery on the floor -- sometimes referred to as a "skateboard architecture" -- makes the floor the hottest zone. Thus, flames radiate upward and outward, cooking everything above.

All the while, the battery cells vent hydrogen fluoride, a toxic, lung-searing gas documented in laboratory test burns of commercial lithium packs. [...] Historically, first responders without supplied-air protection have developed throat burns and breathing difficulties upon arriving at scenes with burning lithium-ion batteries. Depending on the hydrogen fluoride levels, an exposed person can begin coughing up blood within minutes. [...]

Firefighters call such blazes "battery box fires," and they hate them. Flame-retardant foams do little, and fire departments now favor high-pressure water lances or immersion pits. Dousing a runaway battery usually means lowering temperatures below the runaway threshold for every last battery cell -- a task that, according to a 2021 interview with Thayer Smith of the Austin Fire Department, can swallow 30,000 to 40,000 gallons (about 114,000 to 151,000 liters) of water. That's at least 40 times the amount of water required to extinguish a gasoline-car fire.

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