SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20130709-3B81A-2147454363. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Product: Husqvarna RZ5424 (Husqvarna 54" Zero Turn Mower). Incident: On 07-04-13 at 1235hrs, my brand new Husqvarna 54" Zero Turn Mower CAUGHT FIRE while my 18 year old son was riding it. I purchased it from Power Equipment Direct via the internet in late June. The mower was on back order and arrived at my home on 07-02-13. On 07-04-13 at 1145hrs, I started the mower and used it for approx. 20 minutes to cut the backyard without problems. I then took a break. At 1235hrs, my son started the mower and began to cut the front yard. He had the mower running for approx. 1 minute when the engine cut off. When he turned to his right to restart the mower, the mower was on fire under the gas tank. He jumped off and ran into the house to get me. I ran outside and saw flames coming from under the gas tank on the right side of the mower. I used a hose to put out the fire. I examined the mower and could see that the battery meter was completely melted. The melting plastic dripped down, landed on the frame under the gas tank and continued to burn. I called Power Equipment Direct and a recorded msg. stated the company was closed until Monday 07-08-13. I then called Husqvarna customer support and spoke with [REDACTED] (no last name or employee # was given). After telling him my brand new mower caught fire, [REDACTED] directed me to find an authorized Husqvarna service center and take it to the service center to get it fixed. I told [REDACTED] I think this is an emergency case since the mower caught fire while my son was on it but his only solution was to give me the name of a service center in my area. In my opinion, [REDACTED] had little interest in the fac