Breaking News: Fire at Rivian Factory

[SANZC02]

Hopefully the fire was on the Amazon Van area, but just in case, a minute of silence for all those R1Ts lost today...

If I were a betting man I would place my bet on if there was an issue it was in one of the areas of the plant still under construction.

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[Rhidan]

According to Normal Fire department Public Information officer Matt Swaney, a minor fire occurred in the battery assembly area

Swaney said the incident is under control, and more information will be available soon.

https://www.centralillinoisproud.co...al-fire-responding-to-a-fire-at-rivian-plant/

 

[endress14]

I saw there is a fire at the plant. Supposedly battery related. Hopefully it won’t hold up production much!

 

[Blur1t]

https://www.centralillinoisproud.co...al-fire-responding-to-a-fire-at-rivian-plant/

Glad everyone is ok and no building damage too. Kudos to the fire crew and staff for evacuation and damage control.

 

[Lil'O Annie]

https://hoiabc.com/2021/10/26/battery-part-fire-causes-partial-evacuation-of-rivian-plant-in-normal/

Battery part caught fire...put out in 20 minutes.

 

[Friscorays]

Bummer about March 1, 2022.

 

[Ladiver]

I saw there is a fire at the plant. Supposedly battery related. Hopefully it won’t hold up production much!

There is a silver lining to this. If production is down for 30 days, that will only impct 60 vehicle.

 

[Robot]

https://hoiabc.com/2021/10/26/battery-part-fire-causes-partial-evacuation-of-rivian-plant-in-normal/

Battery part caught fire...put out in 20 minutes.

Thanks for the link! Here is the story/update, for those of you curious on wording, like I was:

UPDATE (9 p.m.) – Workers at the Rivian electric car factory in northwest Normal were evacuated briefly Tuesday evening because of a small fire in the automated battery assembly area.

There were no injuries and minimal damage to the plant, the Normal Fire Department said in a news release.

Firefighters were called just after 5 p.m. after a so-called battery sub-module, about the size of a briefcase, caught fire. The fire department said several of the sub-modules make up a full-battery pack that powers electric vehicles.

Firefighters said they used a hose line to quickly extinguish the fire and cool the cells to prevent “thermal runaway.”

Exhaust fans and the building’s heating, ventilation, and cooling system helped remove smoke from the building.

The fire department said the fire did not affect Rivian’s assembly process.

NORMAL (Heart of Illinois ABC) – Some of the workers at the Rivian plant in Normal were evacuated Tuesday evening when a battery part caught fire.

The Normal Fire Department was called to the electric car factory about 5:30 p.m., Fire Chief Mick Humer told Heart of Illinois ABC).

It takes a lot of water to put out a fire like this one, according to the chief. He said it took about 20 minutes to extinguish the fire.

Chief Humer said no one was hurt and the plant was not damaged.
———————————————-
I found it concerning to think it took 20 minutes, which could create a ton of water, depending on the rate of flow; I imagine they wouldn’t mess around with a lower rate. Great to read no damage and even better to read no injuries. Another learning opportunity, as they get to the details of the cause.

 

[AdamsFan1983]

Well... (pause for effect) ...That was oddly prophetic:_

 

[Hilbe]

If battery modules are catching fire at the factory this has me concerned for a Bolt EV situation. At least their batteries come from Samsung and not LG...but hopefully not from the Note 7 battery designers though.

 

[AdamsFan1983]

If battery modules are catching fire at the factory this has me concerned for a Bolt EV situation. At least their batteries come from Samsung and not LG...but hopefully not from the Note 7 battery designers though.

I think it’s really premature/irresponsible to try to infer anything from the incident right now; as with many things here we simply don’t know what we don’t know.

There really isn’t much of a comparison to lgchem/bolts. It’s a completely different battery architecture with pouch cells rather than the cylindrical cells Rivian uses.

That said, I’m not holding my breath waiting for Rivian to release a statement that actually explains the finer details of the episode either.

 

[Zoidz]

There is a silver lining to this. If production is down for 30 days, that will only impct 60 vehicle.

There's another, more important silver lining. With RJ's passion for the business and his technical knowledge, he will probably have a big role in the forensics of this fire. It could have been an equipment failure or accident. But if it was a safety issue with the cells, it's better to happen now, in the factory, than down the road (pun intended).

 

[Lil'O Annie]

If battery modules are catching fire at the factory this has me concerned for a Bolt EV situation.

As a Bolt owner preparing to hand my sweet little car over to GM on a buyback , this has me very concerned too. It is basically a "sub module" that is causing the extremely rare fires in the Bolts. This is, has been and will be, an issue for all EVs. But, for ICE vehicles too. RAM has a recent recall on their new diesel trucks for catching on fire and owners are being told to park their trucks away from garages and vehicles. We live in an explosive world surrounded by all our batteries and volatile fuels. https://news.pickuptrucks.com/2021/10/recall-alert-131000-2021-22-ram-hd-chassis-cab-fire-risk.html

Will this keep me from buying/owning an EV...NO WAY!! I'm not that concerned.

 

[electruck]

Could have easily been an improper material handling issue by an employee and had nothing to do with the cells themselves or proper assembly of a module. Best not to jump to any conclusions.

Around 5pm? Anyone know when Rivian starts 2nd shift?

 

[koersontap]

Could have easily been an improper material handling issue by an employee and had nothing to do with the cells themselves or proper assembly of a module. Best not to jump to any conclusions.

Around 5pm? Anyone know when Rivian starts 2nd shift?

Always blaming it on the second shift!

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