electric floor fan starts fire

[strapper1]

I live in Cha Am and had a fire that was caused by my landlords fan, and he is demanding that I pay damages to the tune of 35,000 baht. I moved into this 3 story townhouse 2 months ago and signed a 6 month lease with my Thai land lord, and paid 10,000 baht deposit I feel that it is the landlords responsibility to maintain a safe environment to his tenants. There were some major issues with the wiring. For instance I had to discontinue hot showers do to electric currents shocking me thru the shower hose, shocks in the kitchen.

The damage was mostly do to smoke and soot. I was on the 2nd floor in my bedroom with the air conditioner on and the door closed when I first smelled what I thought was burning rubber, I opened the bedroom door and the thick black smoke just bellowed in, there was 0 visibility. I would have been overcome from smoke if I had ..tried to go down the stairs.

Me and my 2 small dogs went on the bedroom balcony and I yelled out for help. Finally a neighbor came and opened the sliding glass door, and the black smoke just bellowed out. After the smoke cleared, you could see what was left of the fan, just a black gob on the floor, the fire also burnt the drapes on the sliding glass windows. The fire was contained to the corner in the living room, so, outside of the fan the drapes and 1 window most of the damage was the thick black soot. I had to find a new place to live, all 3 floors, the walls,and ceilings were thick with the black soot, I figure my losses at around 100,000 baht, I feel lucky, my white dogs were black so was I. I'm not even going to try and clean my clothes!

All of this was caused by the fan which is owned by my landlord, he is trying to put the blame on me. I say that I am not responsible, it is not my fault. Fans just don't catch on fire for no reason.. The fan was on the low setting, and the only thing plugged into the outlet! So, according to my landlord, I am supposed to maintain, everything electric. light, water pump, refrigerator etc. Should of paid for electrical inspection before I moved in!

[wprime]

Landlord is liable but it'll cost you more to get him to pay.

[stoneyboy]

For 10,000 baht deposit I would up sticks and leave,sounds like you live in a house of horrors.

Your 100,000 baht has gone up in smoke and with your landlord behaving in typical Thai landlord style you'll get nothing.

Edit I just read you've moved out.

Forget the landlord and carry on with your life.

Has he filed charges for damages with police etc ?

Edited June 12, 2016 by stoneyboy

[namatjira]

Give it away....walk out the door....this is the Wild Wild West and no matter how you think about how it should work out,

It will not.......just walk

[lostinisaan]

OP, you're in a very strange situation and it's usually your part to prove that it was the landlord's faulty fan that caused the fire.

A foreigner causing a fire in a Thai's house doesn't have the best chances to get away without paying.

The landlord could argue that you left the fan unattended and it's therefore your fault. If i were you, I'd ask a lawyer what your chances are.

Please see it from his side. Would you have rent your place to a foreigner and the foreigner would cause damage to your place, what would you do?

How can you even proof that it was the fan that caused the fire? You're in Thailand and only a guest here.

If I were you, I'd run. But if you do so it looks even more suspicious to the cops.

If the guy pays 10 K to a cop, you'll be imprisoned until the case is solved. Sorry, but that's the truth.

P.S. You might be better off when going to the cops with a lawyer and demanding the money for your damaged goods.

Best of luck !!!!

Edited June 12, 2016 by lostinisaan

[mcfish]

Turn on all the taps. And then leave, its a small win..

[mesterm]

Forget the 10,000 thb, it's really not much in your home currency anyway. It's also nothing compared to having a peace of mind and getting far away from such an bullsh*t landlord.

[CharlieH]

You've already moved out. Now put it down to experience and move on.

Anything else from hete on will just be pure hassle if you dont let it go.

Life is too short.

[chrisinth]

We had a similar fire start up here where fan and drapes were involved. But in this case, the fan was too close to the drapes and got 'pulled in' stopping the air flow causing the fan to overheat and eventually setting fire to the curtains.

The owner of the house had just gone to the shops, 15 minutes and returned to curtains on fire and extensive smoke damage.

I hope something similar didn't happen to you.

Given that you already knew you had electrical problems in the form of shocks from the water heater (and shocks from the kitchen?), IMO it is your responsibility initially to make yourself safe by having all the electricity checked, and then put the onus on the owner.

I really am sorry to hear about your misfortune, but people in the short term shouldn't rely on owners if a danger is known, sort it out yourself or move out. Sounds like a case for the ombusman anyway.

[kamalabob2]

If you had renters insurance your insurance company would be there to help you. I know of an expat who had an accidental fire in a rented home in Hau Hin. Long story short, he had no renters insurance. He ended up paying a reputable lawyer, the landlord, the police, etc.. He had to pay for damages to the landlords house. The landlord was only insured for what he owed to the bank on the mortgage. The police and/or fire inspector leverage was a charge of arson. There is case in Phuket I have read on line where the expat returned to the Kingdom and was thrown in jail. Charges were filed after he departed the country. I put in a Schneider Square D electrical panel and paid an electrician to rewire a rental unit I lived in Buriram Province in 2006 and 2007. When I moved I had the wire and load center removed and installed in a relatives home and the original Chang switch reinstalled. No trouble from that landlord, and no fire.

I would advise the OP to see a reputable lawyer with a copy of the fire report, any police reports, any rental agreements, any photos, any documents or receipts of electrical items he had installed or repaired. You can not just "leave" and think it will "blow over". The landlord need only file in court, easily win if you have skipped town, get a judgement, and it will fester until you come back and go through an immigration check point. I paid under 2700 baht per year for renters insurance in 2006 and 2007. It is available at EVERY real insurance office in any size town in Thailand. It is a set fee for fire and liability insurance based on the value you declare for cover, for a rental with rates set by the Thai government. Very inexpensive.