Last week’s blog post featured a blue and white tree that I had bought for Chanukah to replace the similar tree I had for about the past ten years, which I finally threw away. Since lasts week’s post I did change the picture. Here is the tree again:
Here is the tree a short while later:
It has been quite a week, so I will try to make this post not too long. I have little energy left.
The tree came with no instructions or warnings. Just the parts. I put it together and put the batteries in the battery pack. 3 AA batteries. My former tree had no batteries. This tree had little lights already attached around the tree. I turned on the battery pack. Check.
I don’t quite remember what happened next, but I remember thinking that the lights were so dim I couldn’t tell if they were on or not. So I went over to the tree and saw that there were flames on the bottom, near the battery pack, which had a very short wire to the tree. Not knowing quite what to do, I ran and got a mug of water to put out the tiny fire (the tree did not plug in and was not electric). The whole tree went up in flames. It was a couple of inches from my big sectional. I froze for a second and then called 9-1-1. It was just me and my little 15-year-old dog here. I looked at the tree again and knew I didn’t have time to wait for 9-1-1 so I ran out to my neighbor who is generally home, although I don’t know him well. He happened to be walking his dog and heard the smoke alarms go off, so he thought it might be his house and started running, as I was running out through the garage to see if I could find him. He rushed into my house with his dog, told me to open all the windows and turn on all the ceiling fans and get him towels. I gave him two towels and he wrapped them around the tree and carried it out through the garage and put it on the grass. Fire was probably out by this time. The tree was made of plastic, tinsel-type stuff and burns as a toxic plastic — at least that is what it smelled like. I knew it wasn’t good. I called Amazon, where I got it, and told them about it. They sent me to a higher up person. They set up an investigation I guess. I called again the next day and spoke to someone else, very helpful. I looked at the reviews and saw that someone else’s tree had caught on fire as well. I felt stupid for buying it, since I always l0ok at the reviews. The woman told me that the review about the fire had not been up when I purchased the tree. I felt less stupid.
It wasn’t until the next morning that I noticed the dark gray stain on the ceiling above the tree and knew I had to do something. Also, I was afraid of the toxic smell, and I was noticing soot everywhere….little pieces of soot and hanging webs of soot from the walls and ceiling fans.
I called a fire restoration service. He told me the simplest thing to do was to report it to my insurance company because a claim like that would not hurt me since it was a bad product, and the insurance company’s lawyers would go after Amazon. He thought it would be about $5000 to $6000 to repair the damage. He said he could come by and take a look the next day. The fire was on Black Friday. I called him on Sunday.
First thing Monday morning, I called my insurance agent. She told me to call the insurance company claims directly. This is fairly new insurance for me because I used to have just condo insurance until my HOA made us all get homeowners (I have a villa). And now I also have a fire extinguisher spray and two fire blankets.
I called claims and was on the phone for an hour. She made it seem like a really big deal. She recommended another restoration company that they usually use. I told her I had already talked to someone. She said she wasn’t sure the people I had spoken to could do all that needed to be done, and then she said they probably could, but maybe she could also send the other company over and I could decide between the two.
It is Monday morning at this point. I am worried about the plastic smell. I have a little granddaughter, a small old dog, and of course I need my home to be safe for us all. The claims person told me to get out of the house and insurance would cover a nice B&B. I hate leaving my home. It is so much trouble, so I stayed. My other neighbor suggested putting out bowls of vinegar for the smell, and that really helped.
As I write this, it is Thursday evening. Stay tuned for next week’s conclusion of what happened from the Monday after Black Friday until now.
The most stressful thing about it is that I am unusually busy this coming weekend: a concert tomorrow night two hours away, an ice show on Saturday, a kid’s show and a music concert Sunday, and my granddaughter’s birthday on Monday for which we’re going to Disney World. And my son coming to visit from California on Thursday morning the 11th. He has not been here in three years. Sooooo, ain’t got time for this right now!
There are now four reviews about this tree catching fire including mine. The seller doesn’t have a website, but they sell a lot of products, mostly through Amazon and other online sellers. They finally gave me the $25 refund for the tree. The tree went up to $35 over last weekend, and is now $15!
And yes, I bought my neighbor a nice bottle of wine and a plant (he is an avid gardener).
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