‘How can this happen?’ Jacksonville man’s brand new Chevrolet Silverado bursts into flames

Meghan Moriarty
·2 min read
1

An employee’s take-home vehicle burst into flames while sitting in his front yard.

“It’s a brand new truck, first of all, so I’m thinking how can this happen?” Sheena Daimler said.

The 2023 Chevrolet Silverado had roughly 2,000 miles on it. The company-owned truck belonged to Rockaway Landscaping. It was given to a recently promoted employee.

“He drove his truck home,” Greg Burghardt said “That was part of the promotion. At about 3 o’clock in the morning, the door cam got it on video and it start smoldering right around the break. Turns out the truck just blew up.”

Typically, work vehicles are stored on location.

“If it would have happened at our yard, we’ve got gas tanks 20 feet from where that truck would normally be parked,” Burghardt said. “We got buses behind us.”

Burghardt owns the truck and said he reached out to Chevrolet to see if there were any recalls or if he should be worried. He said he hasn’t heard back.

General Motors recently announced a recall for certain Chevrolet Silverado models. It includes the 4500HD, 5500HD, and 6500HD between 2019 and 2023, according to documents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The issue involves the electrical short in the brake pressure switch, which can overheat the circuit and increase the risk of a fire while driving or in the park.

The model at Rockaway Landscaping is a 2500 HD so it’s not included in the recall list. But, Burghardt is still concerned.

“We need to take this stuff seriously because this truck was 2023 with a little over 2,000 miles on it—who would think that thing would blow up?”

We’ve reached out to General Motors to ask if this type of model is a cause for concern and if it has a comment on the issue. We have not yet heard back.

For 2019-2023 Chevrolet Silverado 4500HD, 5500HD, and 6500HD owners, you should contact your dealer at 1-800-222-1020. GM’s number for this recall is N222375270.

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