SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20180820-CB867-2147386062. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Product: Avalon 34 DVL GS (Travis Industries, Avalon Gas (propane) Fireplace Insert Model 34 DVL GS). Incident: While away for a weekend trip, a family member found the gas (propane) fireplace insert in our living room to be on with full flame and two items near the fireplace where melted or scorched due to the high heat. Fireplace had been turned off, by remote control, since February 2018 and pilot light was also turned off. Family member was advised on how to shut the fireplace down completely and removed the burning items from the house. Damage is contained to approximately $300 including the cleaning of curtains, brick and other items in the living room. The installer of the insert, Country Side Stove and Chimney will be inspecting insert and chimney for any defects or damage. The insert has been installed since 2012. Upon our return home I found the batteries on the remote control to be exhausted and no display was present on the remote's digital screen. When last used, the fireplace was in manual mode (not controlled by thermostat) and the remote control was completely turned off. A previous incident also occurred in November of 2017 when I returned home from work and entered an extremely hot living room and the fireplace insert was on with full flame. No items were located near the fireplace at that time as it was during the season when we would begin to use the insert. At that time, the batteries in the remote control were also exhausted and the pilot was not turned on. During both occasions, the brick surrounded the fireplace and the living was much hotter than when we actually use the fireplace. Had I not returned home, or had not the family member checked on our home, I b