My house almost burned down tonight!!!
By mssnow
@mssnow (9484)
United States
November 27, 2008 7:58am CST
I was sleeping on the couch. (yeah i sleep there sometimes) I have an eletric heater because my main heater isnt working. It is a newer heater so I never thought there would be a problem. So i turned my heater on before I went to sleep. The out of asound sleep I heard a voice say "WAKE UP" I woke up to find smoke all over my house and my heater was on fire. I was able to unplug it and throw it outside. Thank goodness. My heart was pounding like crazy. Then i couldnt go back to sleep and something told me to come here and tell my story to maybe save someone else from being burned up in their home. Be very careful with electric heaters. Even the new brands can catch fire. I now have a permanent black spot on my floor where the heater burned it. have you had anything like that happen to you??
10 people like this
27 responses
@tammyr (5946)
• Etowah, Tennessee
27 Nov 08
OMG!! I went to bed last night, on the couch, and plugged in a brand new heater as well!!
I am glad you were able to get it out of the house before any REAL damage was done!!
Thank you for posting this as a warning, I also never thought about a new heater being defective and I was dumb to use it the first time when getting in bed.
I do hope you will return it to the store and get your money back and tell them what happened. Perhaps they can repost it. If this is a common problem the manufacutre may have to recall them.
2 people like this
@jonesy123 (3948)
• United States
27 Nov 08
Thank goodness you woke up in time! There has been a recall on space heaters not too long ago. Unfortunately some stores don't take them off the shelves. You can check with this website and sign up with alerts there, too: http://www.cpsc.gov/
Or just type in the model of your space heater. Complain to the company, too, and alert the CPSC. There might be more of those models out there and even if a recall has not been issued, something can be done, if more people complain. Keep the evidence just in case. You might even get a new floor out of that;)
2 people like this
@KrazyKlingon (5005)
• United States
28 Nov 08
Uh - this sort of spooks me out because just a couple of days ago, I have a friend whose heating kept going out. I mentioned to this friend that I wish I knew where my space heater was, & that if I did, that I was able to email it to 'em. If it was a brand new device you were using, hopefully, the warranty didn't expire yet.
Lucky for me, nothing like this happened to me, at least, not yet.
1 person likes this
@sudalunts (5523)
• United States
27 Nov 08
Thank goodness someone was there to wake you up, that is pretty scary. I do have a heater, but have not used it in a while. The one I have is not a newer model. I have always been skeptical about them, but since I never had a problem, I kind of dismissed the fear.
again, I am glad that you did not get harmed, the floor will have to take care of itself, your life is what is more important.
2 people like this
@morningstar369 (495)
• United States
28 Nov 08
I also have space heaters. I would never go to sleep with them on. I add more blankets and crochet throws on my bed when it is really cold. I have cats and that is the main reason for me not leaving it on. I am so glad that you woke up in time to throw it outside so it wouldn't harm your floor anymore. It is a blessing that the voive told you to wake up. You have a really Wonderful Guardian Angel!!!! Keep safe!!!!!!!
@morningstar369 (495)
• United States
29 Nov 08
I'm so sorry to hear that. I have a pretty good sleeping bag and I crawl into it when it gets really cold and throw a microfleece blanket over that and it usually gets me worm enough. You must live where it gets really cold!! Please be careful. You know I just thought right now would be a really good time to go buy a new one because everything is on sale and super sale in some places. Even the one I bought over a year ago has a shut off if it gets knocked over or overheats. Then I never turned it up all the way. The one I have is a ceramic heater my Holms I thing, (it is in storage) I got 2 for the price of one. One is bigger and I used it in the livingroom and the other is small and I used it in the bathroom and my bedroom. I got the chill off the room and then turned it off and got into bed fast. Take care!!
@morningstar369 (495)
• United States
29 Nov 08
Just thoight of something else. If the company won't reimburse you or give you another heater then you could take it to a comsumer attorney, and get reimbursed for the attorneys fees, heater fees, ands repair to the floor and anything that was damaged in the fire. Smoke damage to your walls and things too. It is something to think about at least..
@RebeccaLynn (2256)
• United States
28 Nov 08
Oh my gosh! I am so glad that you weren't hurt or worse! I don't use electric heaters but it is a good lesson to be careful with them. I hope that someone else can learn from your' near tradgic experience!
You obviously have an angel watching over you! I'm glad that you are all right!
@apples99 (6556)
• United States
28 Nov 08
OMG! I'm sorry to read that, but I'm glad that someone woke you up in time and everything turned out ok, I never liked using those electric heaters, and Iv never had anything like that happen to me personally but I have had some close relatives who were in a house fire and they narrowly escaped, it was a two story house and they had to climb out of the second story window think goodness they made it out ok they only had a few broken bones but they were ok, but the sad thing was they lost there house and all of there belongings.
1 person likes this
@Chevee (5905)
• United States
27 Nov 08
Thank God you woke up and is fine. I have an electric heater too that I always use. I am glad that you shared this with me now I will be more careful with mines. I always keep mine on not when I am sleep, I can't sleep in a hot room, but during the day if I take a nap I will leave it on not any more I am going to be very careful.
1 person likes this
@mariposaman (2959)
• Canada
28 Nov 08
You have to report this to someone as there may be a defect in all the heaters. You are vey lucky. Something like that could have killed you. I am not sure who to report it to though.
@hildas (3031)
•
27 Nov 08
O my goodness. I am glad you are ok and something told you to wake up. I think you have a guardian angel watching over you tonight.
You could of went unconsious with all that smoke. You really are lucky to be here now talking or writing to us.
Thank you for the warning for the heaters. I had one on and I just switched it off as I am getting tired. Take care mssnow. I really am glad you are ok. @jimmy2404 (8)
• Vietnam
28 Nov 08
OH thanks God for your safety,you are really lucky in this case.My house have never had any heater because my country lies in the tropical area,you know,it is often hot all time so also fortunately I will never meet such case.However, thanks for the helpful story in life.
1 person likes this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
27 Nov 08
I am really afraid of those electric heaters, they are dangerous, and I never use them.
1 person likes this
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
27 Nov 08
I am glad you are fine. Spot on the floor is nothing compared to your life.
What company made it? Is it new space heater or old?
Depends on year of production, it is possible to make a claim.
I would also contact insurance company.
I get similar story in my parents place when I noticed cord being too hot.
In my case heater was 30 years old (or even older).
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
27 Nov 08
Good thing you are still hear mylotting and not in the hospital or worse. I would check the warranty and find out if that particular heating has problems. If you know someone who is an electrician maybe he can help you put the heater (if you get a new one) someplace where there is no danger of it catching fire. The heater should not have caught fire like that. It really should have a back up switch in case it reaches a certain temperature.
I never had something like that happen. Are you going to sue the company" It sounds like the heater was defective.
1 person likes this
@royal52gens (5488)
• United States
27 Nov 08
Snow, I have not had anything like that happen but I am so glad to know you are safe and okay. Thank goodness someone woke you up. BTW, Happy Thanksgiving!! I miss talking with you. Have not seen you much. I sure would be sad if something had happened to you. Stay Safe, Stand Strong in your Beliefs.
Royal Mom
1 person likes this
@YoungInLove (1254)
• Canada
27 Nov 08
Oh dear, thats so scary, Im glad you're all right. I havent had a heater incident before but I have had it where there was papertowel leaning against a light bulb in my parents tent trailer once. That could have been messy, everything in there was made out of flammable matierla. Atleast we caught it in time before anyhting could happen. I remember in the news that those electric blankets that they used to have used to catch on fire while people were sleeping all the time, and they were woken up by their beds they were sleeping in being on fire. Its a scary though. I bet the andrenaline was pumping right through you. Once again, glad you're okay!
1 person likes this
@agrant10 (1476)
• United States
27 Nov 08
Mssnow,
Thank you so much for sharing your story. Our heat is out also and it cost a lot of money to replace the unit. We too are using the space heaters to keep warm. I normally get up to and make sure that everything is ok and that there is nothing in the way of the heaters and that it is functionally properly. I will make sure that I stay on top of that and even when I do not want to get up I still will. Thank you for sharing and Happy Thanksgiving.
