Common kitchen appliance 'exploded like a volcano'
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WARNING: Some of the images in this story may be distressing.
A New Zealand mum has issued a warning to her fellow home cooks after sustaining severe burns when the lid of her slow cooker suddenly 'exploded' as she was making dinner.
On July 16, the incident occurred while Robyn Luketina Wineera was hunched over her crock pot, which contained soup.
For about a year, the mum had used her Sunbeam Crock-Pot Express Release Cooker without any problems.
This was the case until a few months ago when the top of the container suddenly flew off and smacked her on the head.
A mum suffered serious burns to her face, arm, and chest after a crock pot explosion. Credit: Myer.
The crock pot was capable of performing a variety of cooking functions, including operating as either a pressure cooker or a slow cooker.
In this instance, according to Robyn, she used the cooker the same way she had done so frequently in the past—she 'slow cooked' the soup rather than using the pressure cooker setting.
'The lid was on and unlocked as per the manual, the steam release dial was open as per the manual,' she told an online news outlet.
Robyn claims that she left the room to give the soup enough time to develop its flavour.
After a while, though, she noticed that the gadget was making a 'distinctive whistle' only heard when pressure cooking. So she turned off the unit and checked the steam release dial, which was open at the time, indicating that there was no pressure.
She reached for the lid to open the cooker, but before she could even get a finger on it, the entire thing went 'boom'. 'It was like a volcano,' says the mum.
The mum sustained serious burns and had to be treated in a medical facility after the incident. Credit: Robyn Luketina Wineera.
Robyn was scalded by piping hot soup when it erupted from the pot and splattered all over her, covering her face, arm, and chest.
As soon as the lid came off, she felt her right eye and lips getting hot, but she was so confused that she couldn't even figure out what had just happened.
She remembered standing in the kitchen 'frozen' and wondering why she felt damp. And then, the reality of the situation dawned on her all at once: she had been severely burned.
Robyn was lucky since she had taken numerous extensive first-aid courses as part of her job as a kindergarten teacher, and she knew exactly what to do at the time. With her clothes still on, she jumped into a cold shower right away and doused herself in cold water.
A short call for an ambulance and a trip to the emergency room later, the mum was receiving burn care at a local hospital.
She was released from the hospital after spending two days there, but she was instructed to return once a week for more treatment.
Three weeks later, she underwent skin graft surgery.
Robyn's face and arm have not fully recovered even several weeks after the incident. Credit: Robyn Luketina Wineera.
Robyn says that even a month after the burning, she is still feeling the effects of what happened. Luckily, she rapidly recovered from the injury to her face, and her eye was unharmed, although she could have been rendered permanently blind.
'My arm was not so lucky, however, and I've needed skin graft surgery to fix it. It still has a long way to go and either feels completely numb or stings and still burns,' she says.
Even though she is still returning to the hospital and receiving medical care, the mum thinks she is 'lucky' that her kids weren't there to help her that night.
Usually, one of her kids is up on the bench with her while she cooks, and if they had helped that time, they could have ended up in the same situation.
Robyn claims that Sunbeam called her after the incident and made an offer to replace one of her appliances as a 'goodwill gesture'.
Of course, after everything that had happened, she declined the offer.
Now, she is advising other parents and home cooks to get rid of their pressure cookers immediately, or better yet, to never get one in the first place.
'How can we trust a tiny little computer inside our pressure cookers to protect our loved ones from explosions in our home? We can't,' she says.
'Please protect your loved ones.'
The slow cooker model in question is still sold all over the country. Credit: Appliances Online.
Newell Brands, a company that sells Sunbeam products, said that the Crock-Pot Express Easy Release Multi-Cooker CPE210 was still being sold in Australia and New Zealand because it is safe when used 'according to the user manual'.
When asked if the company was thinking about conducting an official recall, a spokesperson didn't answer directly but did say, 'Safety and the proper use of our products is one of our top priorities.'
'The circumstances around this particular incident are unique in terms of the alleged failure mode described by the consumer,' they went on to say.
WorkSafe had started an investigation into the incident, but a spokesperson said that while the investigation was going on, they couldn't say anything else.
This is your sign, folks – always be sure to read the owner's manual for your kitchen equipment and do as much research as possible on their quality and functionality!
Stay safe, members!
A New Zealand mum has issued a warning to her fellow home cooks after sustaining severe burns when the lid of her slow cooker suddenly 'exploded' as she was making dinner.
On July 16, the incident occurred while Robyn Luketina Wineera was hunched over her crock pot, which contained soup.
For about a year, the mum had used her Sunbeam Crock-Pot Express Release Cooker without any problems.
This was the case until a few months ago when the top of the container suddenly flew off and smacked her on the head.
A mum suffered serious burns to her face, arm, and chest after a crock pot explosion. Credit: Myer.
The crock pot was capable of performing a variety of cooking functions, including operating as either a pressure cooker or a slow cooker.
In this instance, according to Robyn, she used the cooker the same way she had done so frequently in the past—she 'slow cooked' the soup rather than using the pressure cooker setting.
'The lid was on and unlocked as per the manual, the steam release dial was open as per the manual,' she told an online news outlet.
Robyn claims that she left the room to give the soup enough time to develop its flavour.
After a while, though, she noticed that the gadget was making a 'distinctive whistle' only heard when pressure cooking. So she turned off the unit and checked the steam release dial, which was open at the time, indicating that there was no pressure.
She reached for the lid to open the cooker, but before she could even get a finger on it, the entire thing went 'boom'. 'It was like a volcano,' says the mum.
The mum sustained serious burns and had to be treated in a medical facility after the incident. Credit: Robyn Luketina Wineera.
Robyn was scalded by piping hot soup when it erupted from the pot and splattered all over her, covering her face, arm, and chest.
As soon as the lid came off, she felt her right eye and lips getting hot, but she was so confused that she couldn't even figure out what had just happened.
She remembered standing in the kitchen 'frozen' and wondering why she felt damp. And then, the reality of the situation dawned on her all at once: she had been severely burned.
Robyn was lucky since she had taken numerous extensive first-aid courses as part of her job as a kindergarten teacher, and she knew exactly what to do at the time. With her clothes still on, she jumped into a cold shower right away and doused herself in cold water.
A short call for an ambulance and a trip to the emergency room later, the mum was receiving burn care at a local hospital.
She was released from the hospital after spending two days there, but she was instructed to return once a week for more treatment.
Three weeks later, she underwent skin graft surgery.
Robyn's face and arm have not fully recovered even several weeks after the incident. Credit: Robyn Luketina Wineera.
Robyn says that even a month after the burning, she is still feeling the effects of what happened. Luckily, she rapidly recovered from the injury to her face, and her eye was unharmed, although she could have been rendered permanently blind.
'My arm was not so lucky, however, and I've needed skin graft surgery to fix it. It still has a long way to go and either feels completely numb or stings and still burns,' she says.
Even though she is still returning to the hospital and receiving medical care, the mum thinks she is 'lucky' that her kids weren't there to help her that night.
Usually, one of her kids is up on the bench with her while she cooks, and if they had helped that time, they could have ended up in the same situation.
Robyn claims that Sunbeam called her after the incident and made an offer to replace one of her appliances as a 'goodwill gesture'.
Of course, after everything that had happened, she declined the offer.
Now, she is advising other parents and home cooks to get rid of their pressure cookers immediately, or better yet, to never get one in the first place.
'How can we trust a tiny little computer inside our pressure cookers to protect our loved ones from explosions in our home? We can't,' she says.
'Please protect your loved ones.'
The slow cooker model in question is still sold all over the country. Credit: Appliances Online.
Newell Brands, a company that sells Sunbeam products, said that the Crock-Pot Express Easy Release Multi-Cooker CPE210 was still being sold in Australia and New Zealand because it is safe when used 'according to the user manual'.
When asked if the company was thinking about conducting an official recall, a spokesperson didn't answer directly but did say, 'Safety and the proper use of our products is one of our top priorities.'
'The circumstances around this particular incident are unique in terms of the alleged failure mode described by the consumer,' they went on to say.
WorkSafe had started an investigation into the incident, but a spokesperson said that while the investigation was going on, they couldn't say anything else.
This is your sign, folks – always be sure to read the owner's manual for your kitchen equipment and do as much research as possible on their quality and functionality!
Stay safe, members!
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