Certainly an interesting one, at the moment, at least as far as the public information goes it is not clear what set fire to what, and a mixture of electric and diesel buses were certainly involved. Early reports had said the fire had started with 'buses charging' but later reports implied the fire started some way from that part of the depot, suggesting that was not true after all.  When the dust settles if we do find out, it may inform new recommendations on how closely such things should be monitored.

In a tank, Diesel oil is quite safe, and the knowledge of how to handle it has grown up over a long time, there will be new skills to learn.

I must admit to a certain relief that there was not a hydrogen powered bus on the site,

Mike..

But driving around in vehicles with petrol tanks is perfectly safe?  There's more energy in a tank of petrol than in a typical EV battery.

later news

A TfL spokesperson said: “As a precaution, Switch Mobility has asked all operators that use its double decker electric buses to temporarily withdraw them from service while it conducts an investigation and carries out safety checks.

link here

mike

Indeed, but buses do not run on petrol.I suspect if we invented petrol cars today and went to design review it would never clear the safety hurdles, fuel in single skin tanks speeding along inches from the road,  whirling belts, exposed wheels,  sparks, hot exhaust pipes,  and  that is before we reach the cause of most problems, the nut behind the wheel.

There is more or less the same energy in a mars bar and a stick of dynamite, but the latter requires more care, as the energy can all be released quite rapidly in a small volume.

there is scope for a similar problem here, it just needs a century of product refinement.

Mike.