The use of natural gas to power passenger cars in Armenia, while cheaper than gasoline, has its drawbacks.

A car exploded on September 2 in Yerevan, sending three people to the hospital. The blast damaged eleven cars and a public bus.

Armenia has an extremely high rate of using natural gas (CNG) for vehicles, with estimates of over 70% of cars running on it. This is because natural gas is significantly cheaper than gasoline, which is expensive to import. While this makes gas a more affordable and widely used fuel for transportation, the conversion and refueling infrastructure have had safety issues due to a lack of government oversight, leading to dangerous and sometimes fatal accidents involving exploding gas tanks. 

Twenty-one car explosions have been recorded so far this year, a 50% jump over 2024.

The number of fires recorded in vehicles has also been increasing since 2021. On average, 463 vehicles catch fire each year in Armenia.

Manvel Avetisyan, who heads the Rescue Forces Department’s Critical Facilities Protection Division, says the main cause of fires and explosions is the violation of safety standards.

“In Armenia, cars are often operated on gas, but the operating rules are not followed. For example, the gas cylinder must be tested within the specified period. The expiration date is often indicated on the gas cylinder, but if the car is used a lot, inspections need to be conducted more often,” Avetisyan tells Hetq.

Some car owners are guilty of installing the gas cylinder systems themselves, violating the law that licensed firms must install them.

Avetisyan confesses that there is less monitoring of stations where drivers go to fill their gas tanks.

In the first eight months of 2025, two died and seventy-three were injured because of car explosions and fires, a 59% jump over last year.

Avetisyan says Armenia lacks the special containers used to extinguish fires in electric cars.

“The burning car is completely placed in a container since its batteries and cables burn. We do not have such containers, which makes it difficult to extinguish a fire in a car,” Avetisyan says.

The Rescue Forces official says that while fire safety standards in Armenia are in line with all international standards, it’s the responsibility of drivers to maintain them.

He urges drivers to regularly check their gas cylinders,   not to keep flammable items in the car, avoid using homemade chargers for electric vehicles, and to have a fire extinguisher in the vehicle..