Fire destroys lawmaker’s electric vehicle

THETFORD — A fire that destroyed an electric vehicle owned by state Rep. Tim Briglin, D-Thetford, was caused by an electrical system failure, according to a news release from Vermont State Police. 

Firefighters were called to Briglin’s Tucker Hill Road home around 9 a.m. Thursday for a fire that had erupted in his 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV, according to the release. Briglin, the chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Technology, had plugged in the electric car and was charging it in his driveway when the flames started. No one was injured in the fire, according to police. 

Investigators from the Vermont Department of Public Safety Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit determined that the fire started in a compartment in the back of the passenger’s side of the vehicle, and that it was likely due to an electrical failure, the release said.