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- Jan 13, 2008
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Hi All
I wanted to ask for any info or light you may be able to shed.
Last night my girlfriend and I went to sleep. The fan was on as it gets quite hot upstairs (duplex townhouse - moved in December). Just as we were falling asleep, the fan stopped and I noticed my phone stopped charging. Looked outside - other units had power, so knew the power must have tripped tripped. I went downstairs to check and when I got in the kitchen there was a strong smell, smoke, and there was a large fire behind the fridge. I ran outside where there are fire extinguishers in the complex, and proceeded to put the fire out. I then turned off all the switches on the DB board.
My dad came over to help investigate - all we can tell is that it wasn't the plug on the wall - that was in tact and working perfectly. It seems to either be
a) the module where the power cable comes out from the fridge, as this was badly charred and melted, as well as the wheel near it which was melted; or
b) the power strip into which the fridge was connected, which was almost totally melted.
After disconnecting the power strip and resetting all the switched on the DB board, all plugs and lights work fine.
A few things baffle me - was it an issue in the power strip, its cable, or the fridge itself? Why did the power not trip before a fire started? What caused this to happen when everything was working perfectly (and I have an electrical compliance certificate which we got as part of the property purchase)?
I am waiting for the insurers to get back to me and arrange an assessor to come through to evaluate. Thank heavens we were not in a deep sleep and that we went immediately downstairs. I do not even want to imagine what would have happened if the fire burned for another 10-15 minutes (or more)...scary stuff.
Cheers
X
I have since moved the fridge away from the nook in which it normally sits. I can see where the fire blazed - damaging the back of the fridge (and it seems like it melted on of the wheels), as well as the power strip to which it connected (almost completely melted).
Since I have done this before your assistance would be appreciated. How can this be expedited in terms of getting an assessor out and getting this claim processed as soon as possible. Of particularly high priority is to get the fridge assessed and either repaired (though not sure that is possible) or replaced ASAP. If the former, I am hoping we can get a temporary fridge in the interim otherwise all the food in it will also spoil.
I wanted to ask for any info or light you may be able to shed.
Last night my girlfriend and I went to sleep. The fan was on as it gets quite hot upstairs (duplex townhouse - moved in December). Just as we were falling asleep, the fan stopped and I noticed my phone stopped charging. Looked outside - other units had power, so knew the power must have tripped tripped. I went downstairs to check and when I got in the kitchen there was a strong smell, smoke, and there was a large fire behind the fridge. I ran outside where there are fire extinguishers in the complex, and proceeded to put the fire out. I then turned off all the switches on the DB board.
My dad came over to help investigate - all we can tell is that it wasn't the plug on the wall - that was in tact and working perfectly. It seems to either be
a) the module where the power cable comes out from the fridge, as this was badly charred and melted, as well as the wheel near it which was melted; or
b) the power strip into which the fridge was connected, which was almost totally melted.
After disconnecting the power strip and resetting all the switched on the DB board, all plugs and lights work fine.
A few things baffle me - was it an issue in the power strip, its cable, or the fridge itself? Why did the power not trip before a fire started? What caused this to happen when everything was working perfectly (and I have an electrical compliance certificate which we got as part of the property purchase)?
I am waiting for the insurers to get back to me and arrange an assessor to come through to evaluate. Thank heavens we were not in a deep sleep and that we went immediately downstairs. I do not even want to imagine what would have happened if the fire burned for another 10-15 minutes (or more)...scary stuff.
Cheers
X
I have since moved the fridge away from the nook in which it normally sits. I can see where the fire blazed - damaging the back of the fridge (and it seems like it melted on of the wheels), as well as the power strip to which it connected (almost completely melted).
Since I have done this before your assistance would be appreciated. How can this be expedited in terms of getting an assessor out and getting this claim processed as soon as possible. Of particularly high priority is to get the fridge assessed and either repaired (though not sure that is possible) or replaced ASAP. If the former, I am hoping we can get a temporary fridge in the interim otherwise all the food in it will also spoil.
