Dishwasher that came with house catches fire, and owner learns it was subject of Whirlpool class action

A man in London, Ont., saidhe'll think twice about leaving his dishwasher running overnightafterthe appliance'scontrol board overheated and caught fire and left his kitchen covered in soot.

Geoff Evans had kicked up his feet to watch TV on May 12when he heard an unusual buzzing noise coming from his kitchen. He went upstairs to investigate and saw a flame coming out of the top corner of his KitchenAid dishwasher.

"You don't think the appliance filled with water is gonna catch fire," said Evans, who, after a moment of shock, opened the door of the dishwasher to deactivate it.

It worked, but not the way he'd hoped.

"I opened the door, the flame went away, and then the massive gust of black electrical fire [and] soot filled the house," he said.

"So that was [the]initial moment of, 'What the hell just happened?'"

'No idea' about class-action suit, settlement

Turning to Google for answers, Evans learned his KitchenAid dishwasher was among those included in a class-action lawsuitsettled last July.

The settlement affects dishwashers made betweenOctober 2000 and January 2006 with "Rushmore" or "Rush" electronic control boards, which are manufactured by Whirlpool Corp.

It concerns alleged"past or future overheating events," according to the website dishwashersettlement.ca,and may entitlemembers of the classto:

• Certain past repair expenses.
• Partial reimbursement for replacing the dishwasher.
• A cash rebate on the purchase of a new Whirlpool, Kenmoreor KitchenAid brand dishwasher.

Whirlpooltold CBCNews it strongly disagreeswith the lawsuit's allegationsbut that the settlement spared all parties the expense of litigation.

"Whirlpool continues to stand behind its dishwashers, which are safe, reliable, designed and tested using our award-winning safety processes, and include multiple built-in safety features," the company said in an email statement.

Evans's KitchenAid dishwasher is one of several in a series with a model number beginningwith the letters "KUD."

Dishwashers sold under the Kenmore and Whirlpool brands are also included in the settlement.

Evans, who bought his home in 2006with the appliancesalready installed, said he'd had no contact with the manufacturers and was "completely in the dark"about the lawsuit.

On Tuesday, Whirlpoolcontacted Evans and told him the company would buy back the unitat its original price from 16 years ago, $1,499, he told CBC News. The company also said it would pick up the dishwasher so an engineering team could examine it, and offered to examine his kitchen for any health or safety concerns caused by the fire (Evans declined).

As part of the settlement, Whirlpool sent notices in December 2018 to people whobought an affected dishwasher. The company also ran newspaper and online banner adsand createdthe dishwasher-settlement website the same month.

Evans said he missed all of that.

"[I had] no idea, until there [was]a firethat I should be doing some research into possible recalls [and]risks," he said.

'Big onus on the shoulders of the consumer'

Situations likethe one Evans found himself indemonstrate a commonproblem with consumer products that are the subject of recalls or lawsuits, said Kersi Antia, an associate professor of marketing at Western University's Ivey Business School in London, Ont.,about 190 kilometres southwest of Toronto.

"Here we have somebody who didn't buy the product originally. It came with his house, andas a result of that, he was not contactable by the manufacturer," said Antia.

"It's almost incumbent on the person who's taking over a house to look up the serial number by individual appliance and [do a] Google searchSo, it's a big onus on the shoulders of the consumer."

In the aftermath of the fire, Evans said he's done just that, checking the make and model of every major appliance in his house.

He hasalso boughttwo fire extinguishersand vowed never to leave his dishwasher running while he's sleeping or out of the house.

Evans said he wants to warn otherpeople about the possible risks of products that are already in their homes.

"If you didn't buy the original appliancesfigure out what the brand is, what the model is, go to Google and see what you can find," he said.

The deadline to registerclaims for affected dishwashers has been extended to Nov.25, 2019, Whirlpool Corp. said.