By Dario Battista, RIB (Ont.), MBA, CAIB President
President, isure.ca
Belpac Capri Insurance Brokers Ltd.

Earlier this week (Dec 2/08), one of our clients had a major home fire. Thankfully no one was hurt. The insurer responded quickly and is adjusting the claim, but needless to say it was a terrible experience for our client (especially a month before Christmas).

While the cause has not been officially determined, early indications are the fire MAY have started from the HRV unit in the furnace room.

We did a little research and discovered a large manufacturer recalled a number of these units earlier this year.

At my home, we installed a HRV unit in 1999. Each year a licenced HVAC contractor services our heating and air conditioner, so at first I was not concerned that our unit was affected. Regardless, I decided to call the manufacturer and discovered our unit was subject to the recall.

Apparently the thermal protector can fail, resulting in fire.

The manufacturer was very helpful. They told us to unplug the unit until a replacement part is delivered (3 to 4 weeks). They also suggest anyone having one of these units call to see if it is subject to the recall.

You will find details on the attached link.