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Car fire on the A2: 19-year-old gets off lightly!
On September 15, 2025, a car burned on the A2 near Carinthia. The driver was uninjured and emergency services were able to quickly contain the fire.
Car fire on the A2: 19-year-old gets off lightly!
On the evening of September 15, 2025, a vehicle fire occurred on the A2 motorway in Carinthia, which put emergency services on alert. Immediately after the Kalcherberg tunnel, the car of a 19-year-old driver from Klagenfurt began to burn in the engine compartment. The exact cause of the fire remains unknown. Fortunately, the driver reacted immediately by steering her vehicle onto the hard shoulder and getting to safety before the flames completely engulfed the car. According to Klick Kärnten, ASFINAG was able to contain the fire with fire extinguishers before the fire department arrived.
The immediately alerted volunteer fire departments from Bad St. Leonhard and Preitenegg took over the extinguishing work. A total of 44 emergency services and several vehicles were deployed for around an hour to deal with the situation. Despite the quick reaction, the driver's vehicle was completely destroyed by the flames. The police and the Unterwald motorway maintenance department were also on site and supported the emergency services.
Fire causes and statistics
Vehicle fires are a recurring topic in the area of road safety. According to statistics from GDV, over 14,200 comprehensively insured cars burned in Germany in 2023, including both combustion engines and electric cars. Motor vehicle insurers had to pay over 100 million euros for the damage, which puts the average cost of a vehicle fire at around 7,100 euros. Electric cars pose no greater risk of fire than conventional vehicles.
The causes of vehicle fires are diverse and range from arson to technical defects. Electric cars in particular can catch fire due to battery problems, such as thermal runaway. This process causes the battery cells to overheat and can cause fires that are difficult to extinguish. Firefighters are increasingly confronted with the challenges posed by electric car fires and must use specialized extinguishing methods to combat the fires effectively.
With such incidents on the rise, it is crucial that both vehicle owners and emergency services are informed about appropriate safety measures and emergency strategies for dealing with vehicle fires.