[News Today] CHARGING EV CATCHES ON FIRE

[LEAD]
A fire erupted in an electric car while it was being charged in an underground parking lot of an apartment. Over 300 residents evacuated, narrowly averting disaster with nearly 2,000 vehicles present.

[REPORT]
Smoke slowly rises from the bottom of an electric vehicle parked in a charging area.

About 30 minutes later, some sparks fly up and soon there is a burst of flames.

At around 2:40 a.m. on Wednesday, an electric car caught on fire while charging on the fourth basement level of an apartment in Jeonju. Jeollabuk-do Province.

Witness/ (VOICE MODIFIED)
Smoke began to rise from the underground level. There was an acrid smell and children came out wrapped in blankets.

After receiving a report, firefighters soon arrived and put out the fire in an hour using a portable water tank.

Fortunately, sprinklers went into operation shortly after the fire broke out and there was no thermal runaway of the vehicle's batteries. So the fire didn't spread to adjacent vehicles.

The fire forced about 300 apartment residents to evacuate urgently.

A resident was moved to a hospital after inhaling smoke. But no serious casualties were reported.

But residents were left in fear, since about 2,400 vehicles were parked underground in total, including some 450 cars on the single floor where the fire occurred.

Choi Min-soo/ Apartment resident
My family rushed out to evacuate quickly. Many neighbors were seen outside. We were frightened, recalling EV fire incidents we'd seen on the news.

The vehicle that caught fire was a Niro produced by Kia Motors. A probe found that the car had been charging beginning from 6 p.m. on Tuesday, about nine hours before the fire broke out.

It's been confirmed that the car remained plugged to the charger even after the fire had started.

Firefighters and police are now investigating to find the exact cause of the fire and determine whether it was due to faulty battery or overcharging.