Refrigerator explosion on Thunderbird

[kstew43]

Does anyone know anything about the refrig explosion on thunderbird? I would like to know the make and model. The one that exploded was a 2013 model.....

Anybody have any other information, the facebook on line site showed photos but non of the refrig.

Inquiring minds need to know.....for safety reasons anyway....

I feel so sorry for the poor couple who own the house........such a bad thing....on top of the holidays, even...

[graciegirl]

I am waiting to hear the rest of the story. It just doesn't make sense to me.


I have never heard of a refrigerator exploding. And when you google, there isn't any response of like accidents.

[Hoosierb4]

There's another thread on this subject, but here's a copy of my post on that thread. There is nothing in Whirlpool refrigerators that can explode. They use R-134a as the refrigerant. It isn't flammable. Also, I don't believe that any American manufacturers use R-600 (isobutane), which is used in Europe. I don't know what the Asian manufacturers use. I was responsible for the design and testing of Whirlpool refrigerators for a number of years before I retired. We considered R-600 and rejected it because it was flammable. If the explosion was centered at the refrigerator, there must have been something flammable stored in it.

[kstew43]

There's another thread on this subject, but here's a copy of my post on that thread. There is nothing in Whirlpool refrigerators that can explode. They use R-134a as the refrigerant. It isn't flammable. Also, I don't believe that any American manufacturers use R-600 (isobutane), which is used in Europe. I don't know what the Asian manufacturers use. I was responsible for the design and testing of Whirlpool refrigerators for a number of years before I retired. We considered R-600 and rejected it because it was flammable. If the explosion was centered at the refrigerator, there must have been something flammable stored in it.

what would be flammable and stored in a fridge? I can't think of anything I would put in there next to my food....

[kstew43]

I am waiting to hear the rest of the story. It just doesn't make sense to me.


I have never heard of a refrigerator exploding. And when you google, there isn't any response of like accidents.
you may want to look again......

[graciegirl]

you may want to look again......



Have YOU ever heard of a refrigerator exploding?


It was on the weekend. THIS is Wednesday. Who decided it was the refrigerator? It isn't clear at all, the story on the shhhh online news. I would like to hear more of the details.

Bottom line, no one was killed, Thank heavens.

[kstew43]

Don't say nevermind. Have YOU ever heard of a refrigerator exploding?


It was on the weekend. It isn't clear at all, the story on the shhhh online news.

I actually have been searching since I read the article....they is a photos page specifically for exploding fridges on the internet. Women being burned and homes distroyed.

One thing in particular....I did read....possibly....laying a fridge on its side when transporting...maybe causes the new gases they use to explode over time....I still want to know the make and model and year.....then I can do a better search.

[graciegirl]

I actually have been searching since I read the article....they is a photos page specifically for exploding fridges on the internet. Women being burned and homes distroyed.

One thing in particular....I did read....possibly....laying a fridge on its side when transporting...maybe causes the new gases they use to explode over time....I still want to know the make and model and year.....then I can do a better search.



I know you don't live here but you do own a home here. Maybe check the model in the home you own here. Somebody who rented a home could do something dangerous in the kitchen I guess, or store things in the frig that are explosive.

[kstew43]

I know you don't live here but you do own a home here. Maybe check the model in the home you own here. Somebody who rented a home could do something dangerous in the kitchen I guess, or store things in the frig that are explosive.

that is what I plan...but I have to know what the brand, make, year was of the one that exploded.......thats extremely important information....I think anyway... more than likely the builders get all there products from the same brand to get a lesser price....or the homeowners could of replaced the original with a different brand. Need more info.....

[Phanatic Luvr]

As detailed on the on-line news:

It was a Whirlpool side-by-side refrigerator that exploded Saturday making a Village of Fernandina home uninhabitable.

The model number of the refrigerator is WRS32FDAM.

The owners of the home on Thunderbird Way, David and Sandra Hess, were out at the time of the explosion and fire which left the interior of their home severely damaged.

In the aftermath of the incident, they initially were staying with friends but have located a rental property not too far from their residence.

The kitchen was heavily damaged in the explosion.

According to Consumer Reports, appliance fires, not related to human error, are more common than one might think.

Jack Sanderson, president of Fire Findings, a forensic engineering laboratory in Benton Harbor, Mich. in 2012 told Consumer Reports that more refrigerators are ending up in his labs for analysis.

“It usually has to do with components associated with new compressors,” he says. “I can’t tell you what the problem is exactly, but manufacturers have obviously made a design change that’s having unintended consequences.”

People don’t normally think of refrigerators as posing much fire danger, but Sanderson says they have heaters and draw plenty of current. And once the electrical components catch fire, he says, plastics in the rest of the appliance provide more fuel.

[Amfunny]

We had our whirlpool dishwasher explode and catch on fire before we moved here. It was a model that was put in all the new homes built then. The circuit board shorted out and it was quite common we found out later. Good thing we were home and still up. Horrible black smoke billowed up and then flames. There were cases of them exploding even when not in use.