Chevy Volt suspected in sparking Garage FIRE

[cowboyjosh]

Couldn't see something like this happening.

http://www.wfsb.com/news/27541598/detail.html
torm Connors and his wife, Dee, said they awoke to the sound of a smoke alarm around 4 a.m. The couple said they have lived in the home for nearly 40 years. They built it and raised their children there, so when the flames took over their attached garage Thursday morning, burning it down to its beams, the couple started to panic. They said they were worried they were going to lose their home and the memories inside.
"I walked outside and looked in the garage door and it was flaming," Dee Connors said. "I grabbed a pocketbook so I'd have a cellphone and a driver's license and a jacket and a pair of slacks. I had no shoes, my feet were freezing."
Within minutes of the 911 call reporting the fire, nearly 50 firefighters from surrounding communities headed to the scene.
The Connors family said that response and the fact there was a firewall built between the home and the garage saved their home.
After the fire was extinguished, the couple invited Eyewitness News into the home to see how effective the firewall was. Even the coats in a closet near the fire were unscathed -- not even blackened by smoke.
Now investigators with the state fire marshal's office and the couple's insurance company are looking into what exactly in the garage sparked the fire.
Officials said they can't rule out that the couple's brand new Chevy Volt hybrid had something to do with the blaze.
The fire is under investigation.

 

[Lotek]

"Officials said they can't rule out that the couple's brand new Chevy Volt hybrid had something to do with the blaze."

That's not quite the same thing as "Chevy Volt suspected..."

Maybe 40 year old homeowner installed 15 amp ckt, with a charger that's supposed to have a dedicated 20 amp ckt and the owner didn't read the instructions?

Maybe the lint trap on the dryer?

Holy jump to conclusions Batman.

 

[Gary S]

It is very possible that the car started the fire. Investigation should determine if it did.
It is a known fact that Fords have started hundreds or thousands of fires in the past few years simply because Ford's engineers weren't smart enough to install a fuse in the line with their defective brake switches. It took Ford about 10 years to own up to it and repair the defective vehicles, so don't expect more from GM.

 

[nehog]

Uh, the Volt doesn't plug in does it?

Possibly a classic "oh, hey, here's an outlet, just plug it in..."


The question is, do you blame the car for the fire if the cause was an overloaded outlet in the garage? One can be sure they were charging it overnight.

 

[Lotek]

The thing is I have plugged a Volt charger into a bad outlet, it wouldn't let me charge the car, just flashed a red light on the charger. Didn't even know the outlet was bad, my radio worked.

The homebuilt electric Suzuki parked right next to the Volt couldn't have started the fire, now could it?

I'm sure we will hear more once the investigation is complete...there are some engineers in Detroit that aren't sleeping well tonight, for sure.

 

[cowboyjosh]

"Officials said they can't rule out that the couple's brand new Chevy Volt hybrid had something to do with the blaze."

That's not quite the same thing as "Chevy Volt suspected..."

Maybe 40 year old homeowner installed 15 amp ckt, with a charger that's supposed to have a dedicated 20 amp ckt and the owner didn't read the instructions?

Maybe the lint trap on the dryer?

Holy jump to conclusions Batman.

goto Drudge Report, his headline is:

Chevy Volt Sparks Garage Fire...

Gov't Motors nears 52-week low after report...

 

[NUTTSGT]

I'm sure we will hear more once the investigation is complete...there are some engineers in Detroit that aren't sleeping well tonight, for sure.

I'm thinking the same thing.

 

[csargents1546]

IF the Volt is culprit, imagine what would happen to all the garages with wiring issues accross the US if eveyone had a plug in hybrid. I see problems on the horizion with this issue.

 

[Vicegrip]

In the mean time 5 or 6 garages catch fire from a gas powered car and no one notices as they are common.

Guilty without guilt.

 

[djjsr]

Maybe GM should offer free home electrical inspections as part of the vehicle purchase.

 

[Bender78]

This happened just down the road from me, and I'm a retired member of one of the FD's on that scene. Anything regarding a cause is only conjecture until the investigation is complete.

I'll post the findings when I hear them. Until then, the immediate lesson here is to remember the importance of proper fire blocking in an attached garage. It saved these folks' house, and possibly their lives as well.

 

[Lotek]

This happened just down the road from me, and I'm a retired member of one of the FD's on that scene. Anything regarding a cause is only conjecture until the investigation is complete.

I'll post the findings when I hear them. Until then, the immediate lesson here is to remember the importance of proper fire blocking in an attached garage. It saved these folks' house, and possibly their lives as well.

Thank you, voice of reason.

The O/P seems to have an agenda and and the TV"news" people appear to be a bit sensationalist, to say the least.

What I find funny is the amazement over the firewall, as if it was something new and special.

I'm going to the hands on training for the Volt on Thursday, I'm sure this will be discussed.

 

[djjsr]

Any comments from the "I lined my garage with OSB" guys?

 

[Bender78]

Any comments from the "I lined my garage with OSB" guys?

Sure. Don't charge your hybrid car in a OSB paneled garage with an undersized electrical service until we learn just which one is the hazard.

 

[ddawg16]

Thank you, voice of reason.

The O/P seems to have an agenda and and the TV"news" people appear to be a bit sensationalist, to say the least.

What I find funny is the amazement over the firewall, as if it was something new and special.

I'm going to the hands on training for the Volt on Thursday, I'm sure this will be discussed.

Pretty much my same thoughts.....typical meanscream media....

40 year old house? Built in the 70's? mmmmmm....no couldn't be wiring...they did such a fine job of building houses in the 70's and 80's.

 

[toxicz28]

Maybe GM should offer free home electrical inspections as part of the vehicle purchase.

Maybe as homeowners, these people should verify that thier home's electrical system is capable of handling the extra load as is. And, if not have proper upgrades done up to code and inspected before plugging an electric car in.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Maybe GM should offer free home electrical inspections as part of the vehicle purchase.

From the Volt website:

Q. I know a little about wiring. Can I install a charging station myself?

A. We recommend that you have the 240V charging station professionally installed in your home by a certified electrician. Visit homecharging.spx.com/volt for information regarding home charging equipment, installation and special programs.

 

[Ford12508]

If you have to ask about installing it yourself, that means NO, you can not handle it. I laugh when people say "I am thinking about wiring it myself" That is plain unsafe. If you cant put in an outlet, dont even think about wiring it yourself, you dont know anything about electricity.

 

[cowboyjosh]

Oh, come on folks. MOST people DON'T check on whether the electric in their homes can handle new loads prior to purchases. We've had folks call us saying "I just bought me a new tanning bed and I need it wired" only for us to go out to their home and find out the tanning bed they bought was a commercial unit and its 3 phase. We've also had folks buy kick *** hot tubs, call for wiring, and go out and find out the service is 100 amps with FPE breakers; they pay top dollar for the hot tub but then pinch pennies and don't want to upgrade their service to support the new hot tub, they want it bastardized and done as "cheap as possible".

As for the garage and the VOLT. I noticed some post saying the O/P has a agenda, while I HATE GM with a passion, I don't like to see their **** causing fires (if it indeed did cause a fire). Only reason I hate GM is because I had a bad experience with a 07 GMC Yukon Denali that they eventually bought back under Lemon Law. I merely posted the title of the thread the same as it appeared on Drudge and other news websites.

What I am surprised about in the article is the fire wall, if the house is 40 years old, it must have been built 'ok for being a 70's build, I see allot of homes of that vintage with little or NO fire wall between the house and the garage. Many times the attic on top of the garage on some of these homes is a common attic that goes all the way across the living space as well. Someones thinking and quality work 40 years ago paid off all these years later; usually thats not the case.

 

[wssix99]

This happened just down the road from me, and I'm a retired member of one of the FD's on that scene. Anything regarding a cause is only conjecture until the investigation is complete.

I'll post the findings when I hear them. Until then, the immediate lesson here is to remember the importance of proper fire blocking in an attached garage. It saved these folks' house, and possibly their lives as well.

Subscribing. Curious to hear out how the investigation comes back.

I've worked on product recalls before and guarantee that no one is loosing sleep until an investigation comes back and points to the product being at fault.

The odds of a turkey fryer or faulty electrical causing a garage fire are probably better than any type of car causing one.

 

[GMCAMARO]

Some of the story is missing, I live near by, he also has a do it yourself electrified Suzuki car. Sounds like lets blame the deep pockets.

 

[AustinMiniMan]

Only reason I hate GM is because I had a bad experience with a 07 GMC Yukon Denali that they eventually bought back under Lemon Law.

If you don't my asking, what happened with it? I'm just surprised, as those are pretty simple vehicles. Our '03 XL Denali we bought new has 247,000 miles on it now and has been dead dog reliable.

 

[rburke65]

Yes....very misleading posting! An Inspection cost incured by the home owner???? I'm sure Pres. Obama could come up with a few hundred billion for home owner inspections. Why would should we....that should be the govt. job! We deserve free home inspections. Its our right.

 

[eborcim]

likely the homeowner did not have proper electrical installed for his toys

 

[kornjulio]

*yawn* Somebody claims a Volt caught their house on fire ???

I knew this was coming. You all knew this was coming. Even Ray Charles could see this coming, and he's dead. So let's get on down the road with this so we can resume our regularly scheduled programming.

 

[Hurricane_Whisperer]

Right now, there is not one fact in that article that says what caused the fire.

Also, there are lots of people who don't understand the basics of circuit protection.

You can have a lot of 15 amp outlets on a 15 amp circuit. It is quite easy for a person to plug in enough accessories to overload the circuit.

The circuit breaker or fuse is suppossed to trip or blow to prevent the wiring from being overloaded. So if the volt was plugged into a 15 amp circuit and pulled 12 amps and a portable compressor was plugged into the same circuit and pulled an additional 12 amps, then it is not the volt's fault that the garage burned down anymore than it is the other appliances fault.

If the Volt itself caught on fire, then the Volt can be said to be the cause.

If the Volt tried to pull 50 amps, then the circuit protection should have protected the wiring. Although, in such a case, one could say that the Volt should have circuit protection to prevent it from pulling more than 15 amps through the 120V plug in.

 

[Hurricane_Whisperer]

IF the Volt is culprit, imagine what would happen to all the garages with wiring issues accross the US if eveyone had a plug in hybrid. I see problems on the horizion with this issue.

Do you see any problems with selling 12 amp power tools with plug in cords?

 

[Bender78]

I knew this was coming. You all knew this was coming. Even Ray Charles could see this coming........

[/IMG]

 

[draglink]

wouldnt a better headline be.......

"Coal fired powered car suspected in sparking garage FIRE"

 

[cowboyjosh]

If you don't my asking, what happened with it? I'm just surprised, as those are pretty simple vehicles. Our '03 XL Denali we bought new has 247,000 miles on it now and has been dead dog reliable.

I grew up in the car business, have always bought GMC. I bought a brand new 07 Yukon Denali from a Denver area dealer, and it was a nightmare. By the time it was bought back, it had just shy of 30k miles on it, and a 7 inch warranty file. Things that went wrong in no order of importance

1. Fuel pump twice
2. Fuel injectors
3. Heated windshield wiper fluid thing started smoking on a road trip (disconnected because these units were recalled for causing fires with or without vehicle running)
4. Many problems with Anti Lock brakes
5. Rattles from the dash everyone could hear, yet no one could fix
6. Body Control module
7. DVD NAV RADIO crashed, whole new unit had to be installed
8. Headlight switch broke
9 All 4 door handles broke at one time or another from just simple opening and closing of doors
10. Chrome Wheels pitted
11. Rear diff replaced
12. Transmission went out at 19k miles
13. Air bag dash light kept coming on, turns out it was a wiring problem
14. Oil leak

What finally happened is a head gasket blew and the dealer (different from the one I bought from) suggested I seek legal counsel and get the vehicle bought back. After some back and forth and some arm twisting and name calling GMC bought it back. A rep from GMC personally called me and blamed the problems on me, and that I was too particular, etc. He was as unprofessional as he could have been, but none the less they bought the truck back.

On the other hand on my other ride is a 06 Ford F-250 I had a couple oil leaks in the first 30,000 miles and Ford went out of their way to fix the problem, I got more phone calls from the regional rep and a fella from Michigan still every once in awhile calls to ask how the truck is holding up. In fact Ford told me that if they couldn't repair the oil leak instead of dropping in a new engine they were just going to "buy it back"; they never had too but at least they were the ones who put it out there. The truck now has 202,000 miles on it, no issues.

After all was said and done with the GMC I ended up with a Toyota Land Cruiser, which has been a dream. I have not always hated GM, I have allot of GM memorabelia in my garage, I just wish they handled the situation a little better; I mean their dealerships were washing the hands of the truck for God sake, yet they (the regional reps) were convinced it was "the loose nut between the steering wheel and the seat". Only come to find out that GMC had a habit of buying back a bunch of 07 Tahoe's and Yukons for numerous problems. Lesson learned, I will never buy the first model year of a revamped design.

I wish GM the best, they are a piece of irreplaceable Americana, a true American iconic company, I however won't buy another for a long time.

 

[tcianci]

This thread is a great read! It's worth the time to read the OP again and every reply!
I've been a member here for several years now and have seldom seen a thread that manages to bring out some of the most ABSOLUTELY STUPID, BRAIN DEAD, PRESUMPTIOUS comments as beautifully as this one. Without so much as a single fact, you guys have managed to lambaste GM, home inventors, electricians and builders all in one thread. Absolute proof that stupidity feeds on stupidity. Most of you seem to be worked into such a froth that you will probably ignore any and all facts and findings with respect to a proper investigation. Good work, you clowns.

 

[MBfreak]

100 % support to tcianci. It is about time, too many ambulance chaser comments here. I think these kinds of people on GJ should grab a paintbrush, wrench or some other garage-related object and do a bit of work instead or whining.


Ola

 

[ddawg16]

tcianci......you really know how to take the fun out of things.....

I was just about to post that I think it was all a scam.....the guy is already behind on his house payments and car payments....so he starts the fire and hopes to make a bunch of money off it...it if worked for a lot of Toyota owners...why not him...

But, noooooo, you had to go and point out the obvious and ruin it for everyone.....

Spoil sport....








BTW...good post....I agree......shhhhh....don't tell anyone....I have a reputation to keep...what little is left that is.....

 

[NUTTSGT]

Any comments from the "I lined my garage with OSB" guys?

Yep, one right here.

I made the comment seconding the GM engineers losing sleep. Why? Not because it was the Volt that started the fire but of the media/mass public outcry that could surface from this incident.

Yes I have OSB in my garage. If the homeowner was gone and no close neighbors on a quiet country road, that house would be nothing more than a basement. That's not a bash on the local FD, but an honest estimation based on experience.

I watched the video, typical media, making more out of "nothing" than covering the true "something". They didn't show enough of the garage (in the video)to even try to make a quick guess where the fire started. I'm sure one of the first questions asked during the investigation was "does anybody smoke".

Although I don't care for GM, it would be a shame for a vehicle, especially an electrical vehicle that is supposed to be GREEN, to start causing electrical fires in the owners home.

Home wiring problem ? yep sure could be. Should the breaker trip ? yep, it should. I have seen times when the breakers failed, even the main failing. When the main failed it melted the buss bar and finally tripped the breaker out on the line in the alley.

If this is a serious issue, I'd expect GM to send in a third party investigator and I truly hope the local FD (if they believe that Volt is the cause) documents everything and possibly call in a state investigator to assist.

 

[Hurricane_Whisperer]

This thread is a great read! It's worth the time to read the OP again and every reply!
I've been a member here for several years now and have seldom seen a thread that manages to bring out some of the most ABSOLUTELY STUPID, BRAIN DEAD, PRESUMPTIOUS comments as beautifully as this one. Without so much as a single fact, you guys have managed to lambaste GM, home inventors, electricians and builders all in one thread. Absolute proof that stupidity feeds on stupidity. Most of you seem to be worked into such a froth that you will probably ignore any and all facts and findings with respect to a proper investigation. Good work, you clowns.

This is my favorite post in this thread.

Knowledge and facts have been replaced by unwarranted self esteem and speculation.

I blame it on the education system for putting more value on self esteem then on telling kids they are wrong.
.

 

[ptschram]

40 year old house? Built in the 70's? mmmmmm....no couldn't be wiring...they did such a fine job of building houses in the 70's and 80's.

Couldn't be any worse than the house I moved out of that was built beginning in 1927 and not finished until 1932 (there was this pesky depression in the middle). Knob and tube with cotton/tar/asbestos insulated wire is horrible.

What could be worse is the house I live in now that belonged to an electrician... I've had a few fires and many near misses.

Let's hope this one didn't have the oh so popular aluminium wiring that was used in the 70s.

 

[ptschram]

Most of you seem to be worked into such a froth that you will probably ignore any and all facts and findings with respect to a proper investigation. Good work, you clowns.

Yet you used the word respect and made a personal attack in two sentences.

Curious, curious.

 

[blown94conv]

This thread is a great read! It's worth the time to read the OP again and every reply!
I've been a member here for several years now and have seldom seen a thread that manages to bring out some of the most ABSOLUTELY STUPID, BRAIN DEAD, PRESUMPTIOUS comments as beautifully as this one. Without so much as a single fact, you guys have managed to lambaste GM, home inventors, electricians and builders all in one thread. Absolute proof that stupidity feeds on stupidity. Most of you seem to be worked into such a froth that you will probably ignore any and all facts and findings with respect to a proper investigation. Good work, you clowns.

Welcome to the interent. Where a DSL line and a computer makes you an expert.

 

[GMCAMARO]

http://www.freep.com/article/20110416/NEWS06/104160330/1001/rss01




Fire officials in northwest Connecticut are investigating a residential garage fire where a couple's Chevy Volt was parked and reportedly plugged in.

A GM spokesman in Detroit cited another suspect in the garage: A 1987 Suzuki Samurai SUV the owner had converted to electric power.

"We suspect the Volt was more the victim of the fire than the cause," said GM spokesman Rob Peterson.

According to local news reports from Barkhamsted, Conn., Storm and Dee Connors reported the fire at around 4:15 a.m. Thursday. Firefighters extinguished the blaze, which destroyed the garage and the two vehicles but was stopped by a firewall from damaging the attached house.

The couple and their dog were not injured.

Storm Connors told a TV news crew he'd recently purchased the Volt, which had only 2,000 miles on it. He said he'd converted the Suzuki to electric power years ago.

Connors has a Web site that describes the conversion of his Suzuki Samurai to electric power.

Connors, a volunteer firefighter, said he didn't suspect either vehicle of causing the fire, according to a report by WTNH-TV in New Haven.

The investigation hasn't determined a cause, said Larry Gillen, fire chief for the village of Riverton, one of the communities that responded to the fire. Gillen said GM is sending its own investigator to the scene.

 

[cowboyjosh]

Nice follow up article. I doubt Drudge Report and the mainstream media will report this follow up story and link. The liberal media amazes the **** out of me, the love Obama and the Dems, but trash GM,the company Obama and the government "saved".

http://www.freep.com/article/20110416/NEWS06/104160330/1001/rss01




Fire officials in northwest Connecticut are investigating a residential garage fire where a couple's Chevy Volt was parked and reportedly plugged in.

A GM spokesman in Detroit cited another suspect in the garage: A 1987 Suzuki Samurai SUV the owner had converted to electric power.

"We suspect the Volt was more the victim of the fire than the cause," said GM spokesman Rob Peterson.

According to local news reports from Barkhamsted, Conn., Storm and Dee Connors reported the fire at around 4:15 a.m. Thursday. Firefighters extinguished the blaze, which destroyed the garage and the two vehicles but was stopped by a firewall from damaging the attached house.

The couple and their dog were not injured.

Storm Connors told a TV news crew he'd recently purchased the Volt, which had only 2,000 miles on it. He said he'd converted the Suzuki to electric power years ago.

Connors has a Web site that describes the conversion of his Suzuki Samurai to electric power.

Connors, a volunteer firefighter, said he didn't suspect either vehicle of causing the fire, according to a report by WTNH-TV in New Haven.

The investigation hasn't determined a cause, said Larry Gillen, fire chief for the village of Riverton, one of the communities that responded to the fire. Gillen said GM is sending its own investigator to the scene.