Malfunctioning battery sparks fire at Tesla dealership in Norwell

NORWELL - A malfunctioning lithium battery sparked a fire at a Tesla dealership in Norwell Friday morning.

Firefighters responded to the dealership on Accord Park Drive for a fire inside the service bay at about 10:30 a.m. The fire was extinguished but it took firefighters a "considerable amount of time" to cool the car batteries by flooding the car with water, Norwell Fire Chief Dave Kean told WBZ-TV.

A few other cars in the service bay sustained damage from the water, he said. No injuries were reported.

The fire department remained on scene through the afternoon, as the battery was still malfunctioning. A Tesla technician from Pennsylvania is expected to arrive Friday evening to fix the battery.

Kean said the cause appears to be a technician error. He said whatever the technician was doing to the car appears to have caused the battery to malfunction and catch fire. 

The state fire marshal's office said a hazmat team responded to monitor air quality and water runoff during the incident, and no hazards were detected. 

Investigators have determined the cause of the battery fire to be accidental.