Amazon Delivery Van Ignites in Fiery Explosion During Houston's Summer Heat

A drone relation successful Houston captured video of an electrical Amazon transportation van astatine a fulfillment halfway appearing to detonate portion firefighters worked to enactment retired the blaze connected Monday. And with the Rivian-made van’s proximity to charging stations, galore car experts are wondering astir akin fires that person happened recently.

First reported by The Autopian and Jalopnik, the footage was captured by Third Coast Drone and posted to YouTube connected Monday.

“Today portion leaving the bureau for lunch, I looked to the westbound towards the Amazon warehouse and noticed a ample plume of achromatic smoke,” the anonymous drone relation says successful the video. “I enactment the drone up successful the aerial and went for a person look.”

That person look revealed firefighters already connected the scene, having occupation putting retired the blaze, arsenic you tin spot successful the video below.

“We’re grateful nary 1 was injured and are thankful for the Houston Fire Department’s accelerated response,” a spokesperson told Gizmodo connected Tuesday implicit email. “We’re moving with a 3rd enactment researcher and experts from Rivian to analyse and are not going to speculate, truthful we won’t beryllium sharing further details until we’re assured successful the facts.”

Houston deed 98 degrees connected Monday and the vigor isn’t forecast to dip beneath 90 until possibly Tuesday of adjacent week, according to the Weather Channel. And that benignant of upwind tin beryllium an contented for electrical vehicles.

As Jalopnik explains, chargers tin beryllium the origin of fires erstwhile they’re not decently cooled oregon erstwhile they’re improperly wired, though it’s inactive not wide what caused this occurrence successful Houston. Especially since professionally installed chargers, similar the ones that were presumably astatine this Amazon fulfillment center, person acold less issues than radical who tinker with the wiring of their location chargers.

All that said, determination person been caller reports of Amazon transportation conveyance fires that marque car experts wonderment astir the imaginable causes, including reports successful Manchester, New Jersey successful May and 1 successful bluish California back successful 2022. There was besides a lawsuit past twelvemonth wherever Amazon vans adjacent chargers successful Salt Lake City went up successful flames.

Gizmodo has reached retired to Amazon astir the origin of Monday’s occurrence and volition update this station if we perceive back.