Image Credit: Chattanooga Fire Department / Facebook
Tennessee Conservative News Staff –
Residents of a downtown Chattanooga apartment complex are suing over restrictions placed on electric vehicles.
According to court documents, residents filed a lawsuit after the HOA Board of Directors for One North Short condominiums made the decision to no longer allow charging of electric vehicles in their parking garage outlets. This change went into effect as of July 1, 2025.
Instead, residents are forced to use a Tesla supercharge station that is located about a three-minute drive from the condos or one of three public charging stations nearby.
Some residents report that the change has cost them close to $300 per month.
The decision comes after a 2024 fire in a nearby complex at 417 Frazier Avenue. According to the final report of the incident, a fire broke out after a Kia EV9 was plugged into a Tesla charger with a Kia adapter.
The Chattanooga Fire Department responded to the scene, evacuating the entire complex and rescuing several residents who were trapped on upper floors.
Two vehicles near the EV9 were burned, and most of the cars in the garage had heat damage. Bela Lisboa, a nearby restaurant, was also damaged in the fire and forced to close for several weeks.
The lawsuit questions the actual cause of the fire, stating that it is likely the fire was actually caused by a Kia Telluride, a non-electric vehicle. This conclusion is drawn from a number of recalls of the Telluride due to fire.
Officials with the Chattanooga Fire Department say this was their “first large-scale incident related to an electric vehicle.” Court documents also state that the group has requested that the fire department “acquire the necessary fire suppression equipment for EV battery fires.”
A fire department spokesperson issued the following response: “We’ve met with vendors and conducted live testing using different products. We’ve looked at different types of equipment on the market, but we have not seen evidence of the effectiveness of those products to fully extinguish an EV fire.”
