# New Stove went on fire



## elainem (17 Mar 2010)

I had a stove installed yesterday by registered boiler installer and registered gas installer. It is a solid fuel stove. The cost was e1000. Earlier this pm I went to light the stove. Smoke started bellowing out of it once lit. When I opened the door flames leaped out. Luckily my children weren't anywhere near. My newly decorated sitting room around fireplace and floor is badly damaged. Fire brigade were called, neighbours evacuated. This guy has done work for me before, and it was o.k. Feel a bit like its cause I am a woman on my own again! Although the job was only done yesterday, he has cashed the cheque. Rang him tonight and he told me to f.... off and hung up. Question: what went wrong with the stove and also what recourse do I have to get him to come back or get my money back. Thanks.


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## bertie1 (17 Mar 2010)

when you light a new stove at the start you are only supposed to light a very small fire ( so fire cement seals properly) , the smoke you are on about was most likley the outside paint burning off , usually a new stove has terrible fumes off it when first lit.  Your fire cement wasn't set when you lit it.


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## DGOBS (17 Mar 2010)

was there a problem with the flue?
what did the fire brigade think was the problem?
was the appliance installed correctly as per manufacturers instructions?
have you contacted your own insurance company?

If the problem is due to installation issues, and not something you did yourself, then
(as he is RGI registered) he must carry public liabilty insurance, and would be liable for
any damaged caused.

Remind him (or your solicitor) of the installers 'duty of care' to have installed this correctly.


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## Sue Ellen (17 Mar 2010)

Surely the Customer Service Division of the gas company will need to be notified.  One of their registered installers has placed a family at risk and is not willing to address the problem.


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## Padraigb (17 Mar 2010)

Sue Ellen said:


> Surely the Customer Service Division of the gas company will need to be notified.  One of their registered installers has placed a family at risk and is not willing to address the problem.



It was a solid fuel stove (probably still is: why did I feel it was natural to use the past tense?).


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## mosstown (17 Mar 2010)

bertie1, good advice there as i will be having our stanley erin installed next month and obviously would like to avoid these problems the OP has experienced !


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## fmc (18 Mar 2010)

reagrdless Elaine you should have been advised on how to run the stove. small fires to begin with and a strong burn off. we usually light a few papers ourselves after installation to check draw and that controls etc are working properly. Anyone that gives an answer like the one you got should be investigated. 
If its any consolation I have seen this happen to men as well. Ask where you bought it if they will check out what happened or recommend an engineer to assess was it installed correctly.


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## Sue Ellen (18 Mar 2010)

Padraigb said:


> It was a solid fuel stove (probably still is: why did I feel it was natural to use the past tense?).



Sorry missed that.  Leads on to the question though as to who they are registered with and regulated by especially on such an important issue.


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## clonboy (18 Mar 2010)

couple of points here based on when i got my waterfors stanley erin stove installed

a) the fire cement actually need gentle heat to fully cure

b) after i lit my fire there was smoke and fumes, i thought there was something wrong or not sealed correctly, but as another poster says, first fire will cause all the glues, seals etc to start burning off resdidue from the manufacturing process, just open a window and let it smoke a little , next time it will be fine


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## DGOBS (18 Mar 2010)

Either way, you would imagine the installer would have
a) told the customer that
b) came back to ensure everything was ok
c) not used any profanities to a customer genuinely concerned


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## DavyJones (19 Mar 2010)

Not an issue for RGII but still a serouis lapse on the part of the installer. I have a few golden rules I live by, one of them is, you fit it, you fire it up. Any burning appliance should be lit by the installer first.

Saying that, installer should have done a flue flow test, (test chimney) and a spillage test (test draw once applaince is fired up). As a RGI they would be familar with these practices, doing them on all carbon burning appliances should be second nature.

To answer Sue's question, there is no regulator for solid fuel or oil. we are thankfull we have something that passes itself as one for natural gas (bottled/tanked gas is still largely unregulated)

EDIt, sorry just read last part of your post. What you could do is get a loss adjuster in and claim on your insurance. If claim proceeds, insurance company will more than likely pursue installer for compenstation.


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## elainem (20 Mar 2010)

Hi! Everyone, thanks for your replies. I acutally have had several stanley stoves over the years, so know about lighting a small fire initially. The guy did come out to inspect it again t.g. It could have been potentially very serious as often one of my children will fall asleep on the sofa as I'm doing jobs around the hourse, so having a smoking stove or one that can go on fire doesn't bear thinking about. Although the chimney had been cleaned the day before the stove was put in, apparently there was a lump of cement in the chimney that had been there probably since the house was built 20 years ago. He put something down the chimney and all this masonry fell down. Why the chimney sweep or the stove installer didn't spot this the first time, I can't understand. It really could have had dire consequences, only t.g. it didn't this time. Stanley are also coming out to inspect the stove. Thanks to you all.


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## DGOBS (20 Mar 2010)

Again, as Davy suggested, a flueflow and spillage test should have been performed and this would have been spotted straight away.

Also, buy a good CO alarm an install it in the room, then your child can sleep safely!


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