A fire in Winthrop that destroyed two houses may have been sparked by an electric vehicle, prompting the town’s fire chief to call for car manufacturers to make changes.

Flames broke out Sunday around 4:30 p.m. on River Road.

Responding firefighters found two homes on fire and an electric vehicle parked between them that was also burning.

In total, four families were displaced. Two people were taken to an area hospital, including a pregnant woman. Everyone is expected to be OK.

Electric car fuels Winthrop fire

According to Winthrop Fire Chief Stephen Calandra, the flames were difficult to put out.

“Electric car, once that gets going, put water on it, doesn’t do anything. Hundreds of thousands of gallons of water to put those things out. It’s harder to put out than the house fire,” Calandra said.

The fire chief said he is leaning toward the cause of the fire having been the electric car, but is waiting for the investigation to officially make the determination.

He said the biggest challenge when electric vehicle fires start is they take a great deal of manpower to extinguish.

When asked if it is important for electric vehicles to be properly marked using their license plate, Calandra said in this case it wouldn’t have mattered because the entire rear of the car was up in flames when firefighters arrived.

“It doesn’t have to be labeled, I can tell by the way it burns. It’s a different flame and it’s super hot. From 20 feet away you can feel it. It’s a super bright orange when the batteries get going,” Calandra said.

Fire chief asks EV manufacturers to make changes

The fire chief was asked if departments need more training on how to put out electric vehicle fires. He said that is not a concern, and instead called on manufacturers to make changes.

“The manufacturers have to come up with a method to put the fires out. That’s on them,” Calandra said.

Calandra said off-duty firefighters from other communities who live in the area jumped into action to help Winthrop firefighters knock down the flames.

“[Both houses are] total losses. But nobody got hurt, no firefighters got hurt. It’s a good day,” Calandra said.