SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20210319-1A7E8-3129136. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Product: General Electric PDW9980LBB (Dishwasher). Incident: The consumer indicates that she smelled something burning in her home. When she checked and opened her dishwasher, a lot of smoke came out even though the unit was not on. The dishes that were inside it were burnt. The consumer immediately contacted her local Fire Department and they extinguished the fire, unplugged and removed the dishwasher, and placed it in the consumer�s porch. Their report indicated that the fire may have been started by the unit�s heating element. The consumer contacted the Manufacturer and explained the situation; the representative she spoke to scheduled for a Service Technician to inspect the unit. Once the serviceman looked at the unit, he deemed it repairable but then the Manufacturer deemed it irreparable once they read the Fire Department�s report. The Manufacturer offered a discount towards one of two models of dishwasher that the consumer can purchase. The consumer notes that she had a third-party repairman inspect her unit and he also deemed it irreparable as the parts were no good. The consumer states that the unit is used three to four times per week. The consumer plans on keeping her dishwasher for at least the next thirty days in case an investigation ensues.