Electrical meltdown

[Feelstranger]

Got a call this morning from The SO,  "the Car is on fire!!"
My first thought was a gas leak had started a fire under the hood.  I recently had some light gas smells from the pressure regulator to fuel manifold on occasion.
She sounded confused when I told her to use the extinguisher....turns out smoke was coming out of the passenger side of dash - from underneath.  Strong electrical BBQ smells remain.
Car didn't actually catch on fire. 
But I fear it might as well have!
Any known/typical/likely things to look for in that region? 
It was only 1 minute after leaving the driveway in the morning.
I need to determine if she turned on the dash fan to clear morning dew - thinking the fan might have melted down???
Thanks
Nat