Local newspaper, The Express & Star, has reported that a Samsung fridge has “exploded” at a family home in West Bromwich.
A fridge-freezer is said to have exploded “˜like an earthquake’ smashing windows and doors and ripping holes in the ceiling.
A family-of-six was upstairs at the time of the dramatic early morning blast, but were all unhurt despite extensive damage to the property
The blast shattered glass, smashed front and back doors, blew holes in the ceiling and ripped the roof from the conservatory.
Mother-of-four Carline Preece, aged 44, said that she thought an earthquake had struck. “The doors were ripped in half, the front door has a gaping hole in it and all the windows were blown open by the force,” she said. “The conservatory roof is in shards and there is a crack in every part of the ceiling.”
It is not yet known what caused the explosion, which happened just four days after the £600 Samsung appliance had been repaired.
Mrs Preece said a worker from British Gas, which holds the warranty, had been called out last week to fix a broken thermostat on the four-year-old appliance.
The family was today waiting for the damage to be assessed by insurers and hoping to have the cause of the explosion assessed. Fire crews from West Bromwich were called out to make sure the area was safe.
“It took me about four or five inches off the floor,” she said. “It was frightening and it was just lucky no-one was downstairs. I thought it was an earthquake. We’re still waiting to find out what went wrong. The fire brigade said they had never seen anything like it.”
Neither British Gas or Samsung have yet commented.