SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20190306-68E86-1838657. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Product: Kenmore 15330290 (50 gallon natural gas water heater). Incident: The consumer is concerned that the recall parameters for the product are too narrow. The pan is to prevent water damage, and the pan is not designed as a fire barrier The consumer received notice that his Kenmore water heater was potentially included in the November. 8, 2018 A.O. Smith recall-# 19-029. The consumer went to the recall web site and answered the series of questions. Because his water heater was on a metal pan under it, the response was that he did not qualify for a retrofit. On 3/1 , the water heater stopped working. When the consumer re-lit the water heater, flames exploded out of the side of the product. This happened three different times. The consumer went to the web site again and indicated that the product was not siting on a metal pan. This time the response was that he qualified for a retrofit. It is the consumer's opinion that the recall is too focused on the metal pan. The consumer contacted Kenmore who referred him to A.O. Smith. The consumer contacted A.O. Smith on 3-5. The firm could see on their web site when he had checked for the recall about a month ago.