INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) - Tim Brown says his 77-year-old father and 75-year-old aunt are lucky to be alive. They were sleeping in their north side Indianapolis home Sunday morning as it began to fill with toxic smoke.
About 35 firefighters from the Indianapolis Fire Department responded to the fire and extinguished the blaze within about ten minutes. They sent Michael Brown and Diane Easley to the hospital for smoke inhalation treatment (a firefighter also required medical care) and traced the cause of the fire to the basement.
“Investigators are downstairs looking at the dehumidifier,” IFD spokeswoman Rita Reith told WTHR. “The only thing that was on fire was the actual dehumidifier appliance.”
13 Investigates got to see that dehumidifier Monday afternoon. All that is left is an unrecognizable pile of melted plastic and charred wires.
“It just melted all the way down and it just caused smoke damage all through the house,” said Tim Brown, pointing to the remains of the dehumidifier. “It’s not hard to determine this was the cause right here. It’s dangerous.”
It’s a chilling story that has played out over and over again all across the country.
Millions of dehumidifiers affected
For months, Eyewitness News has been warning Indiana homeowners about a recall involving millions of defective dehumidifiers. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says they can catch fire and cause serious damage, injury and even death, prompting two separate recalls.
The recalls now include more than 5.6 million dehumidifiers. They've reportedly caused over 487 fires and more than $24 million in damage. The recalls impact 60 different brands-- all built between 2003 and 2013 -- sold at big name retailers across the country and online at Ebay and Amazon.
The first recall was announced four years ago and the CPSC issued another one in 2016. But millions of homeowners still don’t know about them, posing a very real danger.
Max McCauly didn’t know about the recalls when his Kokomo home was nearly destroyed by a dehumidifier fire late last year.
The Wood family didn’t know about the recalls when a dehumidifier burst into flames in December in their Westfield basement.
And the Browns did not know about the recalls before Sunday’s fire sent them to Eskenazi Hosptial in Indianapolis.
“Honestly, this is the first time I’ve heard about this. This could have been way worse. I think people should really look closer at their dehumidifier and see if it’s on the list,” Tim Brown said, as he began repairs on his father’s home.
How to check your dehumidifier
To find out whether your dehumidifier poses a fire hazard, find the label on the back of the unit. Write down the brand, model and serial number and see if that information matches any of the models from one of these two dehumidifier recalls:
2016 RECALL: In November 2016, about 3.4 million dehumidifiers were recalled by the GD Midea Air Conditioning Company of China. Midea manufacturers dehumidifiers under the following brand names: Airworks, Alen, Arctic King, Arcticaire, Beaumark, Comfort Star, ComfortAire, Continental Electric, Coolworks, Crosley, Daewoo, Danby, Danby Designer, Dayton, Degree, Diplomat, Edgestar, Excell, Fellini, Forest Air, Frigidaire, GE, Grunaire, Hanover, Homestyles, Honeywell, Hyundai, Ideal Air, Kenmore, Keystone, Kul, Midea, Nantucket, Ocean Breeze, Pelonis, Perfect Aire, Perfect Home, Polar Wind, Premiere, Professional Series, Royal Sovereign, Simplicity, SPT, Sunbeam, Sylvania, TGM, Touch Point, Trutemp, Uberhaus, Westpointe, Winix, and Winixl. Enter the product information from the back of your dehumidifier into this searchable database provided by Midea to see if it is included in the recall.
2013 RECALL: You can also check this list of 84 affected makes and models recalled by the Gree Corporation in late 2013. That recall involves dehumidifiers with brand names Danby, De'Longhi, Fedders, Fellini, Frigidaire, Gree, Kenmore, Norpole, Premiere, Seabreeze, SoleusAir and SuperClima.
If your dehumidifier is on one of the recall lists, the Consumer Product Safety Commission advises you to turn it off, unplug it and stop using it immediately. Contact the manufacturer (at the links provided above) for a replacement or refund under the terms of the recall.