GM experts are working with fire officials in the small town in the Northwest corner of Connecticut to help determine the cause of the blaze that also destroyed a home-built Suzuki Samurai EV that Storm Connors had been chronicling on a blog. General Motors is confident that the engineering and systems in the Chevrolet Volt provide exceptional safety, and the vehicle’s involvement in this situation is one of circumstance, merely a damaged vehicle due to its parking spot, and not the root cause of the fire. Full statement posted after the jump.
[Source: General Motors]
The garage and its contents, including the Volt and a hand-built Suzuki Samurai EV, were heavily damaged in last Thursday’s fire.
While the Volt’s battery pack sustained damage, it was not extensive enough or of the type that would suggest that it caused the fire. In addition, there is clear evidence based on moderate damage to the cordset and charging system that neither component caused the fire.
The vehicles had been left in the garage for investigators and insurers to review when a second incident occurred earlier today. Smoke was seen coming from the damaged Volt and the fire department responded quickly. We continue to support the department in its investigation, sending our experts back to Connecticut to continue working with fire marshals.
We’ve spent more than a decade developing the technology which went into Volt. As such, it has a wide range of active and passive safety systems to ensure our customers are protected.
The most important thing to remember is that everyone is safe and fire investigators are working diligently to determine the cause. We’ll share more information as it becomes available.
