No injuries were reported after Kaua‘i Firefighters responded to a lithium-ion vehicle off-gassing in Kapa‘a on Wednesday near Mariachi’s Mexican Cuisine.
Firefighters were dispatched to a report of fumes coming out of a 3-wheel Akimoto vehicle on Kūhiō Highway shortly after 5:30 p.m. Personnel with the Kaiākea Fire Station, the on-duty Battalion Chief, the Department of Public Works, and the Kaua‘i Police Department responded to the incident.
According to a preliminary report, upon arrival shortly before 5:40 p.m., firefighters discovered smoke coming from the vehicle.
“The vehicle’s lithium-ion battery was in thermal runaway, experiencing off-gassing and burning,” according to a news release from Kaua‘i County. “The Kaua‘i Police Department closed the road in the area as a precaution for the public’s safety.”
As no tow companies were willing to tow a lithium-ion battery vehicle, Kaua‘i Fire personnel utilized Truck 8 to tow the vehicle to a safe location in the vicinity of Kapa‘a Beach Park, where no other vehicles or structures were located, and monitored the vehicle until it stopped producing smoke.
A local establishment was affected by the smoke and closed immediately.
Firefighters cleared the scene shortly after 6:50 p.m., after the off-gassing had dissipated and the fire was out, with plans to return in one hour for another check.
The vehicle began off-gassing once more, and firefighters returned to the scene. The fire department coordinated with the Department of Public Works, which then towed the vehicle to the Kapa‘a Baseyard until the vehicle’s owners could arrange transport.
Kaua‘i Fire and Public Works personnel cleared the scene shortly before 10:25 p.m.
