Former Newborough public housing tenant and mother of three Amielle Tarasinski has been left with a headache after her second-hand dishwasher, which was likely a recalled product, caught fire and caused costly damage to her home and belongings.
Ms Tarasinski has been dealing with the “horrible” aftermath of the March 31 incident, which she said made her former home like a “fire pit” of heat and smoke damage.
“The kitchen was flooded and … it’s just so dark and gloomy and black,” Ms Tarasinski said.
She said the Housing Department deemed the house unliveable and quoted her a minimum of $7500 for damage to the property.
Ms Tarasinski bought the second-hand dishwasher about five years ago and installed the freestanding appliance herself.
On the day of the fire, Ms Tarasinski ran a cycle to clean the dishwasher, then left the house.
She said the father of her children Chris Henshaw heard a “pop” and didn’t think anything of it until flames erupted from the dishwasher causing a fire which would force her family to relocate permanently and cover the damage costs from their own pocket.
A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said tenants were responsible for the cost of repairs for damage caused by a tenant’s fitting or fixture.
“The safety of tenants is the department’s top priority which is why these procedures are in place,” the spokesperson said.
Ms Tarasinski said she did not know the exact model of the LG dishwasher as the product information burnt in the fire, however, believes it could be a recalled product.
LG Electronics Australia is currently investigating the incident and said in a statement it appeared from the initial investigation the unit was likely part of the dishwasher recall initiated by LG in 2005 and 2008.
“However, the actual cause of the fire is yet to be determined,” the statement said.
“Our quality assurance team and dedicated customer service teams are working directly with the affected customer.
“As with all products, issues with LG products can occur, however, we would like to reiterate to consumers that they remain isolated incidents.”
Ms Tarasinski believes there should be better systems in place for tracking recalled products.
“If I’d known that was a recall dishwasher there was no way I would have been putting it in the house,” she said.
To help Ms Tarasinski and her family go to gofundme.com/help-ami-and-her-family.
