Maytag refrigerator sparks close-call fire in Portsmouth
Fire damage in the kitchen. Started by a malfunction in the fridge.
Maytag has recalled more than 1.6 million refrigerators this year.

- East Bay RI

11/25/2009 - An elderly woman saved herself and saved her house on Tuesday by keeping up with her smoke detectors, said Fire Chief Jeff Lynch, after her Maytag refrigerator caught fire in her kitchen.

A few weeks ago, the 78-year-old Portsmouth woman had tested the batteries in the smoke detectors in her split-level house at 132 West Main Road. So when the detectors picked up smoke in the kitchen at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 24, she had time to make it out of the house before flames and smoke would have blocked her passage.

Chief Lynch said Constance Rezendes was "watching television in her bedroom in the back of the house and she heard the smoke detectors" in the kitchen. She immediately checked the area "and saw smoke," Chief Lynch said. "She called 911 as flames erupted from the fridge. She was going out the door as she called 911."

"Smoke detectors saved her life," said Chief Lynch. Had she not been alerted by the alarm, she would not have been able to exit her bedroom, because the hallway leads past the kitchen, which is open to the hallway.

If smoke detectors were what saved Ms. Rezendes, it was quick action by firefighters that rescued her one-story house from worse damage.

Smoke was curling from the exterior of the house as firefighters arrived. Inside the house, there was smoke billowing throughout, and flames coming from the kitchen.

Firefighters "made an aggressive attack," Chief Lynch said, extinguishing the flames in 20 minutes. But the fire had already destroyed the fridge and the cabinets and walls surrounding it.

Firefighters broke into the walls "to check for extension" of the the fire into other rooms, Chief Lynch said, but there was no evidence of that.

"I absolutely believe they saved her house," Chief Lynch said of the Portsmouth firefighters and Navy firefighters who worked together to fight the fire. The Tiverton Fire Department covered the fire station.

And the fire department needed that extra help. Only four Portsmouth firefighters were the first to arrive at the fire. Two others were out on a rescue call at the time.

"On our best day seven guys would have shown up," Chief Lynch said. "We're down to minimum staffing right now."

Fridge danger

Chief Lynch said the fire started in the fridge, that something mechanical or electrical caught fire.

Ms. Rezendes told firefighters her Maytag fridge was less than 10 years old.

Upon investigation, Deputy Fire Chief Philip Simmons discovered that Maytag had issued a recall this year for more than 1.6 million fridges bought between 2000 and 2004.

According to Maytag, "An electrical failure in the relay, the component that turns on the refrigerator’s compressor, can cause overheating and pose a serious fire hazard."

Maytag has learned of 64 fires sparked by its fridges, with 20 of those fires causing property damage.

Ms. Rezendes' house incurred about $20,000 in damages from smoke damage throughout the house and fire damage in the kitchen. She is staying with family, Chief Lynch said.

Chief Lynch said this fire would have been a close call if not for working smoke detectors. From what Ms. Rezendes said to the chief after firefighters had put out the fire, she also appreciated that fact.

He said she told him "how silly it is for people not to have smoke detectors."

If you or a loved one have suffered a loss as a result of a Maytag refrigerator fire you may be entitled to compensation. Contact the Maytag Fire Attorneys of Ennis & Ennis, P.A. today for a free case evaluation by filling out the online form on this page or calling toll-free: 1-800-856-6405. Our experienced lawyers can answer any questions you may have about the Maytag refrigerator recall and a potential Maytag refrigerator fire lawsuit.