Audi E-Tron GT catches fire in dealership

Electric car fires are fairly common, but this one happened on a lift inside a dealership

An Audi e-tron GT caught fire in the pits, leaving an Indiana dealership with a mess to clean up. To make matters worse, the car was on a lift, which was a major hindrance for firefighters.

The Carmel Fire Department explained on social media that a fire alarm went off at a local dealership last weekend and the sprinklers activated as expected. While the sprinklers helped prevent the fire from spreading, firefighters found “smoke filled the entire repair area.”

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Despite the low visibility, firefighters were “mostly” able to extinguish the fire. However, as the department noted, lithium-ion battery fires are “almost impossible to fully extinguish due to thermal runaway.”

This was a big problem because the vehicle was on a lift. However, they were able to get it down and onto a wheeled cart. The fire department was then able to use manpower and a forklift to push the vehicle out of the dealership. This was easier said than done because the effort “required a large number of firefighters and water to control the fire.”

Once outside, the Audi was loaded onto a flatbed truck and escorted to the scrapyard. Needless to say, the car looked to be a total loss, with significant damage around the firewall.

The dealership seemed largely unscathed, though everything in the pits was soaked with smoke and water. Without the sprinklers, however, the situation could have been much worse.

It is not yet clear what caused the accident, but the e-tron GT has been recalled several times due to fire issues. The most recent recall took place in March when Audi recalled 1,042 vehicles because the high-voltage battery could short-circuit and cause a fire.

Carmel Fire Department