https://ev-lectron.com/blogs/blog/ev-fires-vs-ice-fires-safety-comparison-and-analysis
All vehicles, whether powered by gas, diesel, or electricity, carry energy that can ignite under certain conditions. Fires require three elements to occur: fuel, an oxidant (typically air), and a source of ignition.
>In ICE vehicles, hot surfaces, leaking fuel lines, and sparking electrical systems are common ignition sources. For electric cars, battery fires—often caused by thermal runaway or electrical failures—are the main concern.
EVs use lithium-ion batteries with an energy density of around 0.3 kWh/kg. Gasoline, by comparison, has an energy density of roughly 13 kWh/kg. That means ICE vehicles, including diesel cars, store nearly nine times more potential energy than EVs. When ICE cars catch fire, the results can be catastrophic, especially given the volatility of gasoline.
>One of the most widespread myths is that electric vehicle fires happen more often than ICE vehicle fires. According to the National Transportation Safety Board and recent AI Overview findings, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Data from the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency further supports this: only 23 fires occurred among 611,000 electric cars—an incident rate of just 0.004%, compared to 0.08% for ICE vehicles.
>So why the panic? EV fires are newer, more dramatic, and harder to extinguish, making them headline-worthy even though they are much rarer.
Despite this data, EV fires receive more public and media attention because they are new, less understood, and often more dramatic due to battery chemistry. The visual intensity and the challenge of extinguishing an EV fire, especially when reignition occurs, can contribute to a heightened perception of risk. However, the reality is that most fires occur in older, poorly maintained ICE vehicles, and the actual frequency of electric vehicle fires remains very low compared to other vehicle types.
