About 4 years ago on one of the usual weekdays when my eldest son was out at work, my daughter-in-law was out shopping, and my two granddaughters were at school, they went about their daily business but did not know that their normal family life was going to change on that day forever.
When my daughter-in-law returned from her shopping trip, she looked up at the windows as she opened the garden gate and idly wondered why the net curtains had suddenly taken on a darker hue. On opening the front door she was horrified to find that the house was full of thick, black smoke, which enveloped her as she stood there.
Choking, coughing and distraught, she phoned the fire brigade and then her parents and us. The fire brigade discovered that the dishwasher had caught fire, although it hadn’t been in use at the time. However, it was plugged in and switched on. We learned from the fire brigade that this fire was the latest in a long line of similar events to befall unsuspecting householders who had gone out for the day but had not switched off and unplugged their appliances. In some cases people had died in fires that could have been easily avoided.
My son and his family lost everything that day, and all they had left was their car and the clothes they stood up in. Thankfully everybody had been out of the house, but all their possessions and precious keepsakes such as family photos and mementoes had gone. My daughter-in-law’s parents had two spare bedrooms and they stayed with them for a week before their insurance company came up trumps and set them up in a furnished house while their own home was being re-plastered and re-painted. We re-printed as many photos as we could find of their children for them, and people from their nearby church brought spare toys for the children and clothes. In no time at all with a bit of help from us and other members of the family and also generous churchgoers they were on their feet again, but it took some months before they could finally move back into their house.
That episode taught us all to be more careful about leaving electrical appliances switched on. To this day my daughter-in-law never leaves anything switched on, and I always make sure I switch off our dishwasher directly after use. The fire brigade told us that it was usually their make of dishwasher that sometimes catches fire for some strange reason. My husband thinks that probably the dishwasher’s wiring was faulty, and that most appliances are okay being left plugged in, but now he’s the first to check that that our dishwasher is always left unplugged when not in use! As a teenager I used to laugh at my old mum for constantly checking that all the plugs were pulled out before she left the house, but hey, perhaps she knew something that I did not!
Do you unplug your electrical appliances before you go out? Are we too blasé about electricity?
scottishmomus said:
I remember my parents always unplugging TV and any other appliance. The only thing ever left switched on was the fridge.
Someone posted a warning from the fire service about those plug-in air fresheners catching fire and now I never use them.
I’m glad so many rallied around your family although it was a horrible thing to come home to.
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Stevie Turner said:
Plug-in air fresheners catching fire? Goodness; I’ve never heard of that one.
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scottishmomus said:
I’m not sure how true it is but I do recollect someone posting a pic of a melted one that had been found to be the source of a fire. Probably few and far between but then, we don’t expect dishwashers or washing machines et al to go on fire either.
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Stevie Turner said:
Goodness, what a sad story. I’m sure we’ll all be more careful now.
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joanneeddy said:
Years ago, really close friends of ours had a fire. Their only son was using a battery charger which caught fire in the middle of the night…killing him from smoke inhalation. The parents and his four sisters escaped. Both parents suffered burns from trying to rescue him. So, as you can see, your post brings to mind sad memories. Thank you for the reminder to always be cautious, even over cautious…it can make a difference.
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franklparker said:
I was going to make the same point as Ellen, about the ‘built-in’ appliances where you cannot easily access the plug.
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mariaholm said:
What a lesson for us all to learn. I have never thought about it either, but will for the future. I have heard that televisions could behave like that
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Bernadette said:
Yikes! I never even think of doing this. I am glad your family wasn’t home and sleeping when this occurred.
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Stevie Turner said:
Me too. Thank goodness they were all out.
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robjodiefilogomo said:
Wow….I would never have thought about unplugging the dishwasher. Or really any other appliances. I guess I’m way too blase—hopefully it won’t bite me in the butt someday! jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
#seniorsalon
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ellenbest24 said:
Thank goodness they were safe, and a community came together, wonderful in it’s self.
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ellenbest24 said:
No i don’t, lots of plugs especially in the kitchen are behind units, work tops and heavy white goods. This is worrying as people want wires etc… hidden from view, and pristine design is obviously more important than safety.
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wisewoodpidgeon said:
You’re right, I know I am perhaps too blase. It’s a good reminder to us but what a horrid lesson for them to have to learn. So glad everyone was safe and no resulting tragedies other than the loss of ‘stuff’ – but what a lesson! Thank you for sharing this story
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Clive said:
A terrible thing to happen to them, but it’s good to know they had a lot of support. There has been some recent press coverage of problems with electrical appliances – maybe they have a damages case here?
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Stevie Turner said:
The insurance company paid up very quickly. I don’t think my son and daughter-in-law pursued it at the time.
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Clive said:
Good to know they were recompensed, as much as you can be in the circumstances.
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