Electric vehicles are touted by their supporters as the future of driving.
But there’s a dark side that they never want to see the light of day.
And NFL star Randall Cobb feared the worst during this electric vehicle nightmare.
Randall Cobb and his family have a close call after a fire caused by an electric vehicle
Randall Cobb spent 13 seasons in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers, New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys, and the Houston Texans.
He was a star with the Packers as one of the reliable receiving targets for quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
The 33-year-old is a free agent waiting to see if he can find the right situation with a team for this season.
Now Cobb and his family are recovering from a nightmare situation created by the charger for their Tesla.
The Tesla charger caught fire in their garage, spreading to the house.
Cobb, his wife, Aiyda, and their three young sons were in their Nashville, Tennessee home when the fire broke out.
Aiyda Cobb said that the family was lucky to escape with their lives in a post on social media.
“We are lucky to be alive,” Aiyda wrote. “The Tesla charger caught on fire in the garage late last night and quickly spread. We got out of the house with nothing but the clothes on our back and no shoes on our feet.”
Randall Cobb saves family dog from fire
Cobb said that he wasn’t sure what, if anything, he could salvage from his home after the fire.
He revealed that he went back into the burning home to rescue the family dog.
“Thank you for all the love and positive messages,” Cobb wrote. “First and foremost, we are all safe and healthy. We got out of the house and I was able to go back in and get our dog, Louie. We can’t thank Chief Caruthers, Captain Irvin, and the Nashville Fire Department enough for their swift action.”
Cobb said that he was worried about the Tesla exploding.
“I can’t get the image of the brave firefighters getting into position out of my head; he didn’t even have water to shoot yet,” Cobb continued. “I truly thought the cars were going to explode and that we would lose him to this tragedy. He is a true hero.”
Electric vehicle fires are a new challenge for drivers and fire departments.
Their lithium-ion batteries are housed in a waterproof case that make them hard for firefighters to access.
Electric vehicle battery fires burn hotter because they go into thermal runaway where they continue to generate heat.
Those fires burn about 5,000 degrees compared to a regular fire at 1,500 degrees.
It takes a tremendous amount of energy to move an electric vehicle so their batteries are far more dangerous than gasoline-powered engines.
Fire departments around the country are being forced to buy specialized equipment to put out electric vehicle fires.
Putting them out can take up to 12 hours and the batteries are at risk of spontaneously igniting afterward.
Electric vehicle fires are a new nightmare that the country has to deal with as their numbers grow.
