SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20141117-D6805-2147438812. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Matched catalog product: Singer Model # HD6800C 125V~60Hz 0.7A. Source model text: Singer Expert Finish Household Steam Iron (Model EF). Incident: Iron smoking, potential fire hazard: I purchased a Singer Expert Finish iron from Amazon in December 2011, and have used it 2-3 times per month without any problem since that time. I use filtered tap water for the steam function, as instructed in the owner�s manual, and have cleaned the iron regularly using its self-clean feature. On the afternoon of November 16, 2014, I had ironed 4 or 5 shirts with the iron set on 7 (Cotton) and using the steam feature. I left the iron turned on, standing upright on the heel rest on the ironing board, while I went to another room to get more hangers. When I returned, no more than 2 minutes later, the iron was beeping and smoke was pouring out from under the soleplate at its tip. The LCD display read ERR and MAX. I turned the iron off, unplugged it, and moved it to the ceramic cooktop where I could turn on the hood exhaust to get rid of the smoke. The iron continued to smoke for 5-10 more minutes, and was extremely hot. The heat was so intense that the plastic trim at the side of the soleplate was bubbling. There was water remaining in the reservoir. There is no mention in the owner�s manual of any ERR message, but clearly the iron is no longer usable. When I contacted the manufacturer to notify them about the incident, the customer service representative seemed unconcerned about the safety issue (though she - [REDACTED] - did hasten to tell me that the iron was no longer under warranty). I am disappointed in the lack of an apology or any ex