Fisker Karma Fire Sparks Investigation of Car Battery
An investigation is ongoing to determine the exact case of a house fire that occurred in a suburb outside of Houston which involved $100,000 Fisker Karma electric car.
Local officials and insurance companies were working on determining the cause of the fire which started on May 3. Investigators state that the fire started in the garage of a newly built home in Sugar Land, Texas.
"There are conflicting reports and uncertainty surrounding this particular incident," a spokesman for Fisker Automotive said. "The cause of the fire is not yet known and is being investigated."
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The fire destroyed the car as well as two others in the garage and caused extensive damage to the house. The car's battery is being looked at as the possible cause, but no official determination has been made.
The Fisker Automotive spokesman also stated that they have not ruled out the possibility of fraud or malicious intent. Fire officials and investigators were examining an electrical panel in the garage and were looking into reports that there were fireworks in the garage.
Adding to the conflicting reports was Fort Bend County, Texas chief fire investigator Robert Baker, who has publically stated that the Fisker Karma was responsible for the fire.
"Yes, the Karma was the origin of the fire, but what exactly caused that we don't know at this time," Barker said.
In March, a Karma battery failed during a test conducted by Consumer Reports magazine. Fisker recalled 239 Karma cars in December to fix a battery defect that raised the risk of a fire.
Electric car batteries were the subject of a governmental investigation last year when regulators looked into General Motors' Chevrolet Volt after a few battery packs caught fire during testing.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration closed the probe in January, stating that electric vehicles did not have a greater risk of danger than gasoline-powered cars.
