Sears & Frigidaire: Someone Needs to Explain my House Fire

Not a good day...here is what happened:

As most of you know, we moved from Cali to New York...when we bought the house we had to buy a new electrical dryer. So we went to the only appliance place in the area, Sears. We bought a Frigidaire because we have their stove, washer and refrigerator...we are loyal to brands that we like.

My Frigidaire Affinity dryer that we just bought 1 year ago was making a popping sound and smelled like something was burning when we first bought it and the Sears repair guy came out to "fix it" he said the heater coal was bad--so it was replaced-- a few days later it was STILL making the same noise and smell...they came out and said it was "normal" :/

so today I was doing laundry and smelled FIRE--I took the blankets out of the dryer and saw flames coming from the lint screen area--took the lint screen out and yup--FIRE!!

I called my hubby to come to the laundry room as I called 911--they got here in like 5 minutes but, the whole house was full of smoke--mind you, I am 3 months pregnant and smoke inhalation is probably not good...this is my FIRST HOUSE and I was nearly passing out at the fact that it could go up in flames...

I got the kids out--grabbed my cell phone and headed next door to a neighbor's house as my poor kids are crying their eyes out that their house is smoking...all the neighbor's are out and I am SHAKING...

the laundry room is TOAST, dryer is TOAST, the floor in the laundry room is toast as is the ceiling in that room along with the towels, paper towels...oh my gosh-- we store TONS of stuff in that room and it is ruined! The flooring in the entire house, the entire house is full of ashes and again, where are we sleeping tonight considering we have NO family here?

Needless to say I will be taking care of this mess for a few days...don't expect to see me around for a while as this mess gets taken care of.

Sears said we are out of warranty--and I said that the warranty is NOT the concern-the fact that they SAID THIS WAS NORMAL and now I have fire and smoke damage is the problem...and I have no dryer...and I have lots of laundry to do...and my house is full of ashes while I have a baby in my belly and 2 small children...this is not MY problem--this was the result of someone not doing their job from the jump and someone is going to have to do something to help us now. Oh, now my husband has to also miss a few days of work to stay here with me to get all this handled...this is beyond an inconvenience at this point.

***************************UPDATE #1********************************

First, to all the jerks who felt it was necessary to "Anonymous" comment on how I shouldn't be blogging this and I should call my insurance company--thanks! I am not an idiot--I DID call them but, thanks again for being so supportive :/

I am not someone who overreacts...of course we called our home owners insurance company! It was Sunday--they will be here in Tuesday afternoon to asses the damages. Meanwhile, my husband and I vacuumed [thank GOD for my Dyson which did an amazing job} and we mopped as best as we could. The walls are black--it's not gonna just be a wipe clean deal with that. Some of our clothes smell like fire, especially downstairs. After we thought we had cleaned enough for the night, I was hungry...my husband opened the cabinets to find MORE ASH all over the dishes and food in the cabinets! :( Not a good night...

Tonight we may stay at a hotel...I can't stomach the smell of the smoke as faint as it may be to others, my pregger senses are strong and I can smell everything!

I like to have all my ducks in a row so, today we will be talking to the Johnstown Fire Department to get a report of the fire. I already talked to Sears {$100 discount IF we buy another Sears appliance} and that isn't going to cut it. I have not spoken to Frigidaire but, after looking up via Google some other customers of the Affinity Electric Dryer have had issues with it shorting and even one other customer had a fire!

********************UPDATE #2*******************************************

Talked to Frigidaire and WOW! The guy who I spoke with says right off the bat "ma'am, since you purchased this dryer in March 2008 there is no warranty" this was BEFORE HE EVEN KNEW WHAT HAPPENED!

I then tell him the history of this appliance...he then says "do you have the model number or the serial number?" Umm, NO they BURNT OFF! It was like he didn't even hear a word I said...I fully explained to him that the dryer is melted--toasted--done!

He then tells me that he honestly can't "process a claim" without this information. That is when I went a little bit batty...I have worked in customer relations for almost 15 years...that is NOT what you say to someone who just had a FIRE! and he said "honestly"?? I told him "honestly, that is BULL SHIT"

This is more than I care to deal with at this point...and I am hoping that our insurance can get this taken care of. I was just hoping that I could at least get a genuine "I'm sorry" from Sears or Frigidaire...and wanted to have this documented. I mean, thank GOD we were home and not running errands while the dryer was running...like many people do. Thank GOD I smelled it on time and was able to get the kids out of the house and the dog.

I just think that this story is a total BUYER BEWARE when dealing with Sears and Frigidaire...because so far it seems like customer service is dead.

I am thankful that my family is safe but disappointed that even in a recession companies are not wise enough to save their reputations when it comes to something like a family who could have lost their 1st home to a fire.

******UPDATE**********

The power of positive thinking and remaining pretty calm has worked out. I was contacted by a very professional representative of Sears and we are currently working on something. For insurance purposes I have to look into what is being offered but I can say that it is a very thoughtful gesture being made.

I have to commend Sears for responding to me. I still have not heard one word from Frigidaire which is beyong shocking considering the large campaign they are doing with bloggers right now where they are giving out large appliances to them for review.

I will be sure to keep you all updated once things are finalized but, I will tell you this...even if I can not accept the offer from Sears, they should be recognized for their professionalism and courtesy. The representative who contacted me was extremely sincere in his apology for what happened and I did not at all feel that it was a fake apology.

I look forward to getting past this mess soon. The insurance sent the adjuster out and it looks likes the damages are at about $8-10K. The house is going to get all cleaned up tomorrow afternoon and we should have a decent weekend at home for Labor Day.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to all of you who lended your support via comments and Twitter! Know that if you ever need my support, all you have to do is ask :)