Fire in GM's electric Volt prompts US probe

While the US government has launched a probe of electric vehicle safety after a fire in a Chevy Volt, manufacturer General Motors insisted Friday that its vehicles are safe. "First and foremost, I want to make this very clear: the Volt is a safe car," Jim Federico, GM's chief engineer for electric vehicles, said in a statement. Federal safety officials have assured GM that "based on available data, there's no greater risk of fire with a Volt than a traditional gasoline-powered car," Federico said. However, Federico acknowledged that developing appropriate safety protocols for electric vehicles is "clearly an industry concern." "At GM, we have safety protocols to depower the battery of an electric vehicle after a significant crash," he said. "We are working with other vehicle manufacturers, first responders, tow truck operators, and salvage associations with the goal of implementing industry-wide protocols." A spokesman for the National Highway Safety Transportation Agency did not immediately return a request for comment on reports that the probe was launched after a Volt caught fire while parked at a government testing center three weeks after a side-impact crash.