WAYLAND — A hybrid vehicle that caught on fire late Sunday afternoon inside a garage on Sherman Bridge Road could have been disastrous if a resident wasn’t in the right place at the right time, according to Fire Chief Neil McPherson.
McPherson said a resident of the home was inside the garage at the time a Jeep Cherokee 4XE began to smoke heavily, before erupting into flames.
“The husband was working in the garage and plugged in the vehicle,” McPherson said. “It immediately started smoking. If it was plugged in late at night, when everyone was sleeping, it could have been a lot worse.”
McPherson said firefighters responded at 5:32 p.m. Sunday to 24 Sherman Bridge Road after receiving a report of a fire.
Upon arrival, firefighters found the vehicle on fire inside the garage. Firefighters used one of their engines to drag the burning SUV out of the garage, and prevent it from creating any significant structural damage.
“They were able to get the vehicle out of there,” McPherson said. “There was some damage. In the scheme of things, there was some damage to the siding, but that’s better than being destroyed.”
Vehicle was subject to recall in October
The Jeep Cherokee 4XE is a plug-in hybrid. The model at 24 Sherman Bridge Road was recalled by Chrysler in October due to the possibility of it catching fire, plugged in or not. The recall said not to plug in the vehicle or park it inside until the recall issue was addressed.
It's unclear whether the owners knew about the recall.
McPherson said the vehicle presented difficulties due to the lithium-ion batteries found in electric and hybrid vehicles. The batteries are typically located beneath the passenger cabin and burn hotter than in other vehicles. A fire can also spread to other cells of the battery in a method called “thermal runaway.”
Although electric vehicles are the least likely type of vehicles to catch fire, according to a 2023 National Transportation Safety Board study, hybrid vehicles (vehicles with both gas and lithium-ion batteries) are the most likely.
“When they have fires, they are much more complicated for personnel and water supply, because you have to get the batteries cool, so it doesn’t go into thermal runaway,” McPherson explained.
Although the fire was eventually extinguished, McPherson said thermal runaway can happen days afterward, and the vehicle must be isolated for about a week to ensure it doesn't reignite.
“I would say this family is very fortunate,” the chief said. “If the husband wasn’t there, things could have gone a lot worse.”
Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or [email protected]. For up-to-date public safety news, follow him on X @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime.