Halifax Fire warning homeowners to check for recalled thermostats

Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency Services are warning homeowners to check their thermostats after responding to a fire that was started by a recalled device.

Fire Prevention Chief Matt Covey said it’s important for people to register their home electronics as it is the only way manufacturers can reach their consumers in the event of a recall.

“These devices are in your home. It can burn your house down,” said Covey, adding it’s always a good idea to check the model numbers on common household electronics.

“It’s not difficult to check. All the resources are there on Health Canada’s website.”

He said since these recalls are often consumer-driven, it’s important to report any malfunctions to the manufacturer or to Health Canada.

“If there’s a recall notice on a product I would recommend you immediately stop using it, then look at the recall notice,” said Covey.

“That will give direction as to what you should do to have it remedied or replaced.”

Eastern Passage resident Wade Webber said he happened to check his Twitter feed on Wednesday and noticed the post.

“The one downstairs just stopped working within the last day or two,” Webber said.

“I got the tweet from Halifax Fire indicating there were recalls. I noticed that yes, this is that particular model number.”

Upon further inspection, Webber found that one of his thermostats had indeed malfunctioned, melting inside the wall.

He said he now has to replace all 10 thermostats in his home, adding this is not the first time he’s experienced issues with the “NUME” brand of thermostats.

“A couple years ago I came back from vacation. Just happened to be downstairs on the computer, came back up after about an hour and it was extremely hot in the room, 40 degrees or so,” Webber said.

“The thermostat said 20 but clearly it was overheated. I couldn’t touch the unit itself.”

Webber said he replaced that thermostat with a new one, however the replacement has also since been recalled.

He said he would like to see more accountability from builders when it comes to keeping track of any recalls for products they install in new constructions.