Heating pad caught fire

[sittinpretty]

What is the name of your state? Michigan
I suffer from chronic back pain due to spinal degeneration. I purchased a professional grade heating pad 2 months ago and used it until a few days ago with no problem. Out of no where, without having been turned on, it caught fire. It was at the foot of my bed, amidst my blankets. I was awakened from my sleep by what smelled like burning toast. By the time I called 911 and got my children out of the house, it burst into flames. My mattress was burning and I didn't have a clue! There is a hole in my mattress big enough for a small adult to crawl through. My insurance company is of course going to persue recoupment of their pay-out, from the manufacturer. I have lost wages, my nerves are shot, neither me nor my children are sleeping well, and we can't live in our home yet. Do I have any grounds for a suit? Getting my money back, and having the manufacturer pay my homeowner's deductible, just doesn't get it.

 

[fairisfair]

no, most assuredly you do not have recourse. The directions on heating pads specifically warn against sleeping with them, on them, leaving them on while unattended, among a list of other things that you did that were against the manufacturer's suggested use.
I am surprised that your insurance company is even considering pursuing them, but I guess anything is worth asking for.

 

[moburkes]

I'm in agreement. You state that it was amidst your blankets, so how can you be sure that it wasn't turned on, unless it was unplugged? This appears to be due to YOUR negligence, not a product defect. Those on/off switches move easily.

 

[sittinpretty]

Thank you for the responses. I did not apparently make myself clear enough. I wasn't sleeping with the pad on. It never came on in the first place, which is why I felt comfortable falling asleep with it at the foot of my bed. As I mentioned, it was also a therapeutic grade pad. There is no sliding on/off switch as is common with pads purchased at the neighborhood pharmacy. It had an electronic touchpad that requires the 'on' button to be suppressed for 2 seconds in order to activate. I may be at fault for not unplugging it, (the clock, the tv, the dvd player, and every other electronic device in my home that I trusted wouldn't burst into flames), but other than that, I don't see anything other than manufacturer liability for a faulty product. Thanks again.

 

[Zigner]

Sure then, file suit. Don't worry about what anyone in here says.
(why did you come here again?)

 

[sittinpretty]

I came here to gather some positive, constructive information from intelligent, like-minded people. Disagreement shouldn't garner cynicism. Shame on the person that comes to this forum and makes important legal decisions based solely on the faceless opinions of those that bother to read their posts.

 

[Zigner]

My point is that you came here for advice, then disagree with the advice. You seem to have made up your mind already before you even logged on to this forum... Good luck.

 

[xylene]

A heating pad is not supposed to heat to temperature that can ignite itself and / or ordinary bedding and upolstry, which is why the insurance co. is going after the manufacturer.

The warnings against a using a heating pad asleep are to prevent 1st degree contact burns. The temperature at which skin will painfully redden is far below the ignition temp of even synthetic materials.

While I agree that unplugging any device that "gets hot" is always extremely wise, not unplugging it does not automatically mean the device was not defective.

I urge you to keep working with the insurance company, and ask them, point blank: "Do I need a lawyer?" and get another opinion.

Also you really need to have something other than burning smells to wake you up. Get a smoke detector for every bedroom. 1 per floor is not enough. Also a good quality fire extinguisher. I have a mess of household dry chemical units around the house, and a commercial style CO2 extinguisher in the kitchen. (Kitchen is likely place for a fire, and CO2 unit doesn't make a mess.)

good luck and be more careful.

 

[sittinpretty]

Thanks, Xylene. You understood my intent. Oddly enough, because the heating pad caught fire from the bottom(this is per the forensic investigators at my insurance company), the smoke didn't float high enough to activate my smoke alarms. That's scarier than knowing that the mattress was burning and I didn't feel any heat! Fortunately, my daughter's and I were able to use our extinguishers and have a fortunate outcome.

 

[Ozark_Sophist]

Your mattress was treated with a fire resistant chemical designed to delay ignition long enough, hopefully, for you to become aware of the danger and exit. It could take hours for the smoldering heat to ignite to flames. Which is why older model electric blankets and heating pads (higher temps) typically have cautions and / or warnings about use of the product with other blankets.

Our electric blanket went out New Year's Eve at 2am. One of our dogs alerted us to the danger in time. I was able to unplug and remove the blanket. The fire department and I carefully examined the mattress and didn't find any hot spots. To be safe, however, we left everything outside and spent the night at my parents.

I cut apart the blanket and the interior control box containing the circuit breaker had melt marks apparent from the outside (interior of the blanket) and interior layers of blanket had heat damage. When I took apart the control box, there was evidence of extreme heat (blackened, melted circuit board and wires) that had not the dog reacted in time, would have surely ignited when a melt through occured allowing oxygen to the heat source.

 

[fairisfair]

am I in the twilight zone or what???

http://www.localwin.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-121.html

or should I just start calling myself bryant??

 

[Ozark_Sophist]

"bryant:"
Freaky! Does this happen often?

 

[fairisfair]

"bryant:"
Freaky! Does this happen often?

I don't think so, or if it does, I never even muss my hair!! LOL

 

[Gadfly]

As for those other devices in your home not bursting into flame, no you shouldn't "expect" them to do so, but it is very possible.

For example, my guess is you have a remote control TV. Well guess what? When it's "off" it still has power to it and the remote circuit is always on. Many many devices in your home are in some kind of standby or sleep mode when people think they are "off."

Then too there's always the hidden cameras the government has secretly hidden in your home to watch what you are doning. They could burst into flame too.

 

[gemclco]

Heating Pad Fires

Certain makes and models of heating pads have been proven to overheat to the point of catching fire. Under UL standards no heating pad should get hotter than about 200 degrees. This is way below the point of ignition of any bedding materials. Even folded and crammed under the covers this should not have happened. However, I have seen it many times. Also, even if turned off, but if plugged in, there are some energized components in the controls of some heating pads. I would seriously question whether the pad in fact was off, but under certain circumstances that could be true, but if plugged in and a fire may still result.