Electric vehicle fires raise concern as former Aldi gets OK to become collision repair shop
BETHLEHEM TWP., Pa. — A proposed site plan to retrofit the former Aldi building at 3050 Easton Ave. into a Caliber Collision auto repair facility got township planners’ approval Tuesday.
But some officials raised concerns about servicing electric vehicles there.
No timeline was shared regarding the project.
“Caliber Collision is not in the business of catching other vehicles on fire. If that’s a concern, I can guarantee you that will be a situation that they’ll keep a close eye on.”
Stephen Walsh, branch manager with Dynamic Engineering
Stephen Walsh, branch manager with Dynamic Engineering, said required site improvements generally would be “moderate,” including extending curb and drainage facilities.
Planners Vice Chairman James Daley said he’s personally been in a car wreck with an electric vehicle that “spontaneously combusted into flames.”
The National Transportation Safety Board has an 80-page report concluding that EV batteries can put first responders at a broader risk of electric shock, and even be prone to reignition.
Daley asked Walsh if the repair facility would feature some sort of separate area for damaged EVs to minimize the risk of a fire spreading to the other vehicles and the building on site.
Not familiar with concerns
Walsh said he wasn’t familiar with EVs catching fire as described, but said the damaged vehicles would be stored in a fenced-in area and the facility would specialize in quick turnover times.
“Nothing is expected to sit here more than a few days,” Walsh responded.
“You put them next to somewhere, it takes [lots of] water to put them out. Not to mention if you get them out, you have a hazmat situation for the whole parking lot. And you could possibly take out every car you have in your lot.”
Bethlehem Township planner Barry Roth
“Caliber Collision is not in the business of catching other vehicles on fire. If that’s a concern, I can guarantee you that will be a situation that they’ll keep a close eye on.”
He said EVs would not be parked right next to the building, but would be monitored while stored near other vehicles.
Planner Barry Roth agreed with Daley, saying he’s read for more than a year about cases of damaged EVs catching fire with intensity.
“You put them next to somewhere, it takes [lots of] water to put them out,” Roth said.
“Not to mention if you get them out, you have a hazmat situation for the whole parking lot. And you could possibly take out every car you have in your lot.”
Planner David Wong said even just a separate concrete barrier should be considered, if anything.
Township resident Tom Keefer said he was in the auto body business for nearly two decades, and there was “no way” he would ever have been able to service vehicles as fast as was proposed with the new facility.
The Caliber Collision chain has more than 1,700 facilities around the country.
The former Easton Avenue Aldi now operates at 3833 Nazareth Pike, just up the road from routes 22 and 191. It opened last August.
