A fire broke out at the Tesla factory in Berlin, Germany on September 26. According to the latest reports, after 5 hours of the fire, no fatalities were reported. According to the local fire department, the fire broke out at the factory at 03:30 a.m. local time on Monday.
Reported by GizChina and The Verge, Wednesday (28/9), according to firefighters, the fire originated from an outdoor recycling bin. In that place, a lot of cardboard and flammable materials piled up. About 50 local firefighters went straight to the factory to tame the fire.
There were no Tesla units in the fire. If that happened, then a fire in a car factory could be much worse. Unfortunately, Tesla has not commented on the specific cause of the fire. Also, it is not stated whether this will affect the production of the vehicle or not.
Meanwhile, local groups in Germany who have long opposed Tesla’s factories because of environmental concerns are also speaking out. Grünheide citizen initiative representative Steffen Schorcht said the residents’ worst fears had come true.
“We demand a production halt until the causes and circumstances have been clarified and all safety-related measures in the protected areas are implemented,” he said.
This isn’t Tesla’s first cardboard problem. Earlier this year, cardboard pallets in the parking lot of the automaker’s Fremont, California, caught fire. And in 2019, Tesla was fined by the EPA for not properly cleaning highly flammable paint and solvent mixtures and required to equip factories with improved emergency response equipment by the local Fire Department.
The plant opened earlier this year and has a target to build 500,000 vehicles per year. In 2020, there was a delay in its construction as residents were concerned about the water pollution and deforestation required to build it.
