A fire in a car is never fun, but when it happens in an electric car, it can be especially bad, since there's no easy way to douse the flames. Firefighters have spoken out against this, so it's certainly something that automakers are well aware of. Some electric cars have been particularly bad though, and one example is the Chevrolet Bolt EV. A potential fire risk here saw GM buy risky models back from customers, but it seems that not all of the affected vehicles were caught. A Vermont state lawmaker who has been very vocal about the benefits of EVs has ironically seen his car catch fire while it was charging in his driveway. Whoops.

His car is a 2019 Bolt EV and was part of the November recall of nearly 69,000 such cars by GM and NHTSA, but worryingly, state representative Timothy Briglin told authorities that his Bolt had indeed been serviced for the recall recently. That means that either the repair was not carried out correctly or that the fix doesn't actually resolve the issue. Alternatively, there could be another area of the car that is faulty that GM has not yet discovered. GM is obviously quite worried about this and is "in touch with authorities to understand the specific circumstances."

GM says that it has also "reached out to the customer and [is] actively investigating the incident." Further comments would not be made until GM has had an opportunity to delve deeper into the situation and complete its investigation. All we know for now is that the Bolt EV was plugged in to recharge while sitting in Briglin's driveway. Vermont State Police say that the cause of the fire "appears to be an undetermined electrical system failure" that started in the second row of the car, which makes it consistent with fires reported in other Bolt EVs. It seems that the fix has yet to be found then, but in the meantime, EV naysayers have more fuel for their own fires.