This Halifax-area man's oven caught fire while making turkey dinner

Rodney Parsons's Thanksgiving dinner turned into disaster this fall after his daughter discovered their range stove was on fire.

But Parsons said the manufacturer — Samsung — refuses to replace it, even after a technician determined the oven malfunctioned through no fault of the family.

"They should do something," said Parsons, who lives in Middle Sackville, N.S. "I mean, our house could have burned to the ground."

Parsons said he was at work on Oct. 10 when he received a frantic phone call from his daughter.

"She said, 'Dad, the stove blew up,'" said Parsons. "I had to call the fire department, and then I took it quite seriously after that."

Parsons said his oven and cabinets were full of black soot. The smell of burnt plastic still won't go away, he said.

Since the incident, Parsons and his wife have been going back and forth with Samsung trying to reach a resolution.

He purchased his oven in 2016 from a local Home Depot store.

The oven was under a full replacement warranty for one year, but Samsung promises a five-year parts warranty on certain models with a radiant heater and glass cook top. Parsons's oven has a glass cook top.

Several days after contacting Samsung, a local third-party technician was sent out by the company to assess the situation.

Parsons said the technician determined the damage to his stove was extensive and that the stove's relay switch malfunctioned.

Some stoves and ranges have a relay control board, which helps control the voltage going to the burners or elements on the cook top or in the oven.

Samsung offers replacement parts, $350 rebate

The technician said that judging from the melted wiring on the relay control board, that was likely the source of the fire.

Parsons said Samsung offered to order the parts to fix it, or give him a $350 rebate toward a new stove. Parsons initially paid around $1,000 for his stove.

Although the oven is no longer under the full replacement warranty, Parsons believes Samsung should replace the product due to the danger and trauma caused by the incident. 

He said he wouldn't trust the oven if it was repaired with replacement parts, and believes it is damaged beyond repair anyway based on the technician's assessment.

A spokesperson for Samsung responded to CBC News, saying the company encourages customers to call its 1-800 number for help with questions about products. 

"At Samsung, we stand behind our products and strive to ensure customer satisfaction. We have followed up with Mr. Parsons to learn more about his experience," read the emailed statement.  

Company embroiled in lawsuit

Samsung is the subject of a class action lawsuit filed in December 2020 in New Jersey pertaining to 87 Samsung stoves, including Parsons's model. 

The lawsuit alleges that a defect in the oven temperature sensor causes failures in the range's control boards.

"When the control boards fail, the [range's] oven and burner temperatures deviate from the user-selected temperature settings," the document said.

"The ovens and burners are either not hot enough or far too hot, posing a safety risk."

The document also claims "Samsung has been aware of the defect for years. Customers have posted their experiences at widely-trafficked internet sites, as well as communicated them to Samsung directly."

The allegations in the class action have not been proven. Pretrial procedures continue and a conference call with the judge in the case is set for February.

'This one is pretty rare'

Matt Covey, division fire chief of fire prevention for Halifax Regional Fire, said kitchen fires are one of their most common calls, but this situation was quite unique.

"We get all kinds of unintended cooking calls — pot on the stove is by far the most common one. And then grease cooking would be another one," said Covey. "This one is pretty rare."

He said if this kind of electrical fire happens, do not attempt to put the fire out with water — something Parsons's daughter did in a panic.

"If you have an extinguisher, you can try and use it on the fire, but really [you should] turn to your escape plan and get out of the house and get to your safe place, and then call us, call 911," he said.

Covey also advised that when purchasing appliances like stoves, be sure to register the item with the manufacturer.

"You get a registration card typically in the box.... Those are so that if there is a recall, they're required by law to notify you," said Covey.

Parsons seeking legal advice

He also recommended reporting similar issues to Health Canada. He said if enough people were to have similar issues with the same stove, it would initiate a recall.

Covey said to avoid typical stove mishaps, don't cook while under the influence, never leave cooking unattended and have someone be a designated cook for the evening, which helps ensure there is always someone looking after the meal.

Parsons said at this point, he's looking into getting a lawyer to see what can be done from here.

"Other people should be aware of these products.... If they've got a malfunction in some of these products, they should fix it," said Parsons.

"They shouldn't keep selling them. Something could happen to somebody else."

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