Ontario house fire most likely caused by replacement vacuum battery

An Ontario woman replaced a battery in her portable vacuum cleaner that she bought off a website and fire investigators say it most likely caused a house fire.

“The battery exploded and caused a fire in the laundry room," said Lina Tenaglia of Bolton, who added “I heard a big blast and when I opened the laundry room door it was on fire. Everything was on fire."

Tenaglia said her portable Dyson vacuum cleaner was on fire and she grabbed it and threw it outside, but it was too late the flames had spread.

Portions of the home have to be completely gutted and rebuilt and now Tenaglia is living with her daughter Maureen.

Fire investigators said in their report the “possible cause (was) electrical failure.”

"It was sheer shock. My mom called me in a panic and said the house was on fire. Balls of fire were flying off the machine and said she grabbed the Dyson vacuum and threw it outside, but the fire had already combusted,” said Maureen Tenaglia.

The family said investigators told them it was likely due to a third-party rechargeable battery they had purchased through Amazon for their Dyson vacuum cleaner.

"The fire Investigator said in the last two months they had over six cases of this happening and that this is common" said Maureen Tenaglia.

The office of the Ontario Fire Marshall said you should only use replacement batteries and battery chargers that come from the same manufacturer of the item and not a third party.

“In the last two and a half years we are seeing an increase in these type of fires, lithium battery fires” said Ontario Deputy Fire Marshal, Nancy MacDonald-Duncan.

A Dyson spokesperson told CTV News, “The safety of our owners is our number one priority and we always advise against using anything other than genuine Dyson batteries. Third party batteries can be dangerous and may not conform to safety standards.”

“Only by using genuine Dyson parts are you ensuring the rigorous safety testing built into our design process is upheld and your machine continues to work as intended. Dyson does not warrant the use of any third party batteries or parts and is not liable for any injuries or damages caused by their use,” a Dyson spokesperson said.

Tenaglia bought the battery off Amazon’s website. Amazon had no comment on the story when contacted by CTV News.

Many of the products we use are powered by rechargeable batteries, including laptops, lawn mowers, and vacuum cleaners. Replacement batteries can be expensive, which is why you might be tempted to buy a cheaper brand, but that's not recommended.

“The best advice we can give you is to never replace something that is not with the same manufacturer, that is not same product for that device,” said MacDonald-Duncan.

You should also use the proper batteries and charging devices for smart phones and e-bikes.

Tenaglia says the past few months have been stressful and frustrating and she says she never would have used a third party battery if she thought a fire could happen.

"Unfortunately I read the reviews after this happened and there are so many people that have written on the reviews that they have the exact same description of what happened to me. Three blasts and a fire," said Tenaglia.

As well as using the proper batteries you should take them off a charger as soon as they've reached full charge to prevent them from overcharging and over heating.