Tl;Dr: Don't Ever Set Your Electric Car on Fire

> it does concern electric vehicles (EVs), which are a significant part of the broader AI discourse.

made me laugh. i hope that was the intent.

Battery fires are nasty; Fire Departments are going to be dealing with more of them, EV cars or not. Exploding cell phones is not such a big deal anymore, but antiquated rechargeable tool and toy batteries are going to be causing fun in attics and odd corners for years.

There's a place in a nearby town that works with magnesium, they have a big storage shed full of it. Occasionally, this catches fire; and the local Fire Depts all gather round and watch the entire stockpile burn. Excellent training opportunity, what to do with a fire you cannot put out. Keep it from spreading, as far as you can.

Eventually, I hope, we will move to safer battery designs less prone to thermal runaway.

It might take a few decades, though. Town gas (made from coal, a mix of carbon monoxide and hydrogen) was used for several decades before the change to natural gas (all methane), despite the explosions and suicides.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_gas

That battery blanket demo is pretty sweet, I hope every fire department gets one as standard issue