This fall, his Thanksgiving dinner became a disaster after Rodney Parsons' daughter discovered that their stove was on fire.

But Parsons said the manufacturer-Samsung-refused to replace it, even after the technician determined that the oven malfunction was not due to family fault.

"They should do something," said Parsons, who lives in Sackville, central NSW. "I mean, our house may have been burned down."

Parsons said he received a call from his daughter when he went to work on October 10.

"She said,'Dad, the stove exploded,'" Parsons said. "I had to call the fire department, and then I took it very seriously."

Parsons said his oven and cupboard were full of black soot. He said that the smell of burnt plastic will still not disappear.

After the incident, Parsons and his wife have been negotiating back and forth with Samsung in an attempt to reach a solution.

He bought the oven from the local Home Depot store in 2016.

The oven has a one-year full replacement warranty, but Samsung promises to provide a five-year parts warranty for certain models with radiant heaters and glass cooktops. Parsons’ oven has a glass cooktop.

A few days after contacting Samsung, the company sent a local third-party technician to assess the situation.

Parsons said the technician determined that his furnace was badly damaged and the furnace's relay switch was malfunctioning.

Some stoves and stoves have a relay control board that helps control the voltage to the burners or components in the stove or oven.

The technician said that judging from the melting of the circuit on the relay control board, this is likely to be the source of fire.

Parsons said that Samsung offered to order parts to repair it, or give him a $350 rebate to buy a new stove. Parsons initially paid about $1,000 for his stove.

Although the oven no longer enjoys a full replacement warranty, Parsons believes that Samsung should replace the product in view of the danger and trauma caused by the accident. 

He said he would not believe that the oven was repaired with replacement parts, and believed that based on the assessment of the technicians, it could not be repaired anyway.

In response to CBC News, a Samsung spokesperson stated that the company encourages customers to call its 1-800 number for help with product issues. 

"At Samsung, we support our products and work hard to ensure customer satisfaction. We have followed up with Mr. Parsons to learn more about his experience," the email statement read.  

Samsung is the subject of a class-action lawsuit filed in New Jersey in December 2020, which involved 87 Samsung stoves, including Parsons' models. 

The lawsuit alleges that a defect in the oven temperature sensor caused the series of control panels to malfunction.

"When the control board fails, the temperature of the [range] oven and burner will deviate from the user-selected temperature setting," the document said.

"The oven and the burner are either not hot enough or too hot, posing a safety risk."

The document also stated, “Samsung has been aware of this flaw for many years. Customers have posted their experience on a well-trafficed website and communicated it directly to Samsung.”

The allegations in the class action have not been confirmed. The pre-trial process continues, and a conference call with the case judge is scheduled to be held in February.

According to Matt Covey, fire chief of the fire department of the Halifax District Fire Department, a kitchen fire is one of their most common alarms, but this situation is very unique.

"We receive all kinds of unexpected cooking calls-the pot on the stove is by far the most common. Then fat cooking will be another," Covey said. "This is really rare."

He said that if such an electrical fire occurs, don't try to extinguish it with water-this is what Parsons' daughter did in a panic.

"If you have a fire extinguisher, you can try to use it on the fire, but in fact [you should] turn to your escape plan, get out of the house, to your safe place, then call us and dial 911," he said.

Covey also recommends that when buying appliances such as stoves, be sure to register the item with the manufacturer.

"You usually get a registration card in the box... If there is a recall, the law requires them to notify you," Covey said.

He also recommended reporting similar issues to Health Canada. He said that if enough people encounter similar problems with the same stove, a recall will be initiated.

Covey said that in order to avoid typical stove accidents, don't cook under the influence, never leave cooking unattended, and assign someone to cook at night, which helps to ensure that someone is always taking care of the meal.

Parsons said at this time that he is considering hiring a lawyer to see what he can do from here.

"Others should know about these products... if some of these products malfunction, they should fix it," Parsons said.

"They shouldn't continue to sell them. Something may happen to others."

For more stories about the experience of black Canadians—from anti-black racism to success stories in the black community—check out Black Canadians, a CBC project that Canadian blacks can be proud of. You can read more stories here.

Feleshia Chandler is a journalist based in Halifax. She likes to help people tell their stories and is interested in issues surrounding LGBTQ people and black, aboriginal, and people of color. You can contact her at feleshia.chandler@cbc.ca

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