This morning, fire crews responded to a battery fire at Rivian’s Normal, Illinois plant.
As per local reporting from the Pantograph, a battery pack caught fire after one of its cells overheated during testing.
According to a press release from the Normal Fire Department, Normal and Bloomington firefighters responded to a call at 10:38 am this morning.
When crews arrived, the battery pack was experiencing a thermal runaway even in a testing area on the southwest side of the plant.
Firefighters hooked up to existing water lines within the Rivian plant and doused the flames. They continued to pour water on the pack to ensure that the thermal pack would not relight.
The exact cause of the fire is still unknown at the moment.
However, the battery pack was under repair and was undergoing testing when the thermal runaway started.
As per fire officials there were no vehicles, production equipment or other battery packs affected.
No one was hurt during the event, and the fire department cleared the scene by 2 pm.
Rivian took possession of the battery once the thermal event was over for investigation and disassembly.
Rivian did not provide a comment on the fire or what caused the fire at their plant.
This is the third reported fire at Rivian’s Normal plant.
In October last year another battery caught fire resulting in a partial evacuation of the facility.
Then in February firefighters responded to a fire on one of the production lines.
