Rivian Factory Fire Causes Damage to Vehicles

A fire broke out in the parking lot of Rivian’s plant in Normal, Illinois, over the weekend, damaging several dozen Rivian vehicles. Aerial photos of a large parking lot outside the factory show a cordoned-off area containing nearly 60 Rivian R1T electric pickup trucks and R1S electric SUVs, most exhibiting fire damage. A source close to Rivian informed that the affected vehicles had been set aside for scrapping, although others indicated they were awaiting repair.

Local news reports indicated that the fire department responded just before 9:45 pm on Saturday, and extinguished the fire by midnight. Standard operating procedure for electric vehicle fires involves allowing them to burn themselves out rather than attempting to extinguish them, explaining the fire’s size and intensity. Crews remained on the scene to monitor the vehicles, as it is common for EV fires to have a risk of re-ignition.

While EV fires often capture headlines, statistics reveal that electric vehicles are significantly less likely to catch fire than traditional internal-combustion vehicles. However, EV fires tend to be more challenging to extinguish. iBestTravel reached out to Rivian for comments, and was informed, “We are investigating the cause of a fire that damaged a number of vehicles in a parking lot at our Normal plant late Saturday night. The plant itself is unaffected. There were no injuries.”