Fire Hazard Warning

A Good Warning to Us All
by Suzana Mohamed Zahir

Especially those of you who use the plug-in "Ambi Pur" or "Glade" air
freshners. My brother and his wife learned a hard lesson this last
week. Their house burned down... nothing left but ashes.

They have good insurance, so the home will be replaced and so will
most of the contents. That is the good news. However, they were sick
when they found out the cause of the fire.

The insurance investigator sifted through the ashes for several hours.
He had the cause of the fire traced to the master bathroom. He asked
my sister-in-law what she had plugged in the bathroom. She listed the
normal things... curling iron, blow dryer. He kept saying to her, "No,
this would be something that would disintegrate at high temperatures."

Then, my sister-in-law remembered she had a Glade Plug-in in the
bathroom. The investigator had one of those "Aha" moments. He said
that was the cause of the fire. He said he has seen more home fires
started with the plug in type room fresheners than anything else.

He said the plastic they are made from is a THIN plastic. He said in
every case there was nothing left to prove that it even existed. When
the investigator looked in the wall plug, the two prongs left from the
plug-in were still in there.

My sister-in-law had one of the plug-ins that had a small night light
built in it. She said she had noticed that the light would dim... and
then finally go out. She would walk in a few hours later, and the
light would be back on again.

The investigator said that the unit was getting too hot, and would dim
and go out rather than just blow the light bulb. Once it cooled down,
it would come back on. That is a warning sign. The investigator said
he personally wouldn't have any type of plug in fragrance device
anywhere in his house.

He has seen too many burned down homes.

P.S. If you require home insurance to protect your home and loved ones
from fire, please contact:

KL/Questar Agency
8.29, 8th Floor, Wisma AIG
99 Jalan Ampang
50450 KUALA LUMPUR
Tel: 03-2031 8128
Fax: 03-2032 1128
Web: www.questar-agency.com