Over the years, we’ve seen many journalists write articles about vehicle fires and spread misinformation about the cause of a fire, often aligning it to an EV. There have been many, but below are a couple of direct examples I’ve covered.
Facebook user Matt L shared a photo yesterday, of a sign posted in the window of a Motel in Rockhampton, QLD that reads:
“Charging of Electric Vehicles is not permitted due to fire risk”
We have since come to learn the Motel in question is Rocky Gardens Motor Inn, Rockhampton, QLD.
This morning I called the Motel and spoke to the Manager who engaged me in conversation around the sign, clarifying more insight to how it came to be.
The owner of the Rockhampton Motel had experienced an electrical issue at one of his other properties, which he attributed to an EV charging at the time. Reportedly the circuit broke and required replacing. It was highlighted that some of these properties are some 30+ years old.
I explained that a regular wall chargers for an EV draws the same as a microwave or other appliances, albeit for an extended period of time and that it sounds like the issue could have been with the infrastructure and not the vehicle.
I expressed the risk in posting a sign like this without that context, which likely leaves a customer with the impression that EVs are the problem, not the wiring of an old Motel.
I suggested the best case scenario would be for a motel to provide the EV charging infrastructure to remove that risk. This was met with a very clear statement that the owner would never do that. I followed up and asked directly, do you think the owner is anti-EV to which the response was a very clear yes and the manager also admitted he has similar feelings.
At some level I understand it, the owner obviously incurred costs that he attributed to a customer charging an EV. The problem is where he drew a connection to the EV being the problem and then propagated that to all other outlets at all other properties. That simply isn’t based in data.
Let’s look at the claim an understand from data, what the actual risk is.
NRMA has a great article on this from September 2024 titled ‘Understand electric vehicle fires: A comprehensive guide’ –
In the article, they leverage data from EV FireSafe, an Australian initiative, funded by the Department of Defence, in which they report that just 6 EV battery fires had taken place in Australia, out of more than 180,000 EVs on the road.
They then looked at global EV data from 2010 to 2022 and found a tiny 0.0012% chance of a passenger EV battery catching fire, in stark contrast to a 0.1% chance for ICE vehicles.
All commercially available EVs sold in Australia have in-built protection from overcharging, so the fire is not going to occur from regular use. Fires can happen if the vehicle is in an accident and the battery pack is penetrated, although that is something you’ll experience instantly, not hours later once you’ve parked at the motel for the night.
Similar to phone, scooter, laptop and other chargers, you should avoid buying cheap versions off the internet and stick with name brands, to ensure they meet the electrical and safety standards of Australia. If the motel wanted to post a sign and integrate into their terms of service that customers are only to use first party chargers, I could get behind that.
What we see from publicly available photos online, the Motel has no issues parking combustion engines undercover, right outside the hotel rooms.
It’s really sad that this Motel has feels strongly enough to purchase a sign, then post it on the front door of their Motel reception.
I’m also concerned this further perpetuates misinformation to guests that stay here and don’t think critically about this message, or simply don’t have the full context.
Those guests may never go on to buy an EV if they don’t believe they are safe.
I suggested that Rocky Gardens Motor Inn posts this decision on their website to inform customers of their policy. As it stands, you could book here, pay a deposit, then only learn about it the anti-ev policy when you reach reception to check in. By posting this on their website, particularly at checkout, EV owners can make an informed decision about staying here or not.
Charging alternatives
If you are staying in Rockhampton, QLD, thankfully there are a number of other EV charging options for you. Plugshare shows Motel 98 (https://www.plugshare.com/location/349365) having no issues in providing charge to their customers.
The Stockland Shopping center also provides charging (undergound) –
There’s a Tesla Supercharger (open to non-Tesla vehicles) at the Primewest on the Bruce Highway –
The Rockhampton Council, the University of Queensland, the Rockhampton Hospital and others also have EV charging facilities.
I hope Matt finds alternative accommodation where they believe in data.
