Serene bathroom heaters safety notice/recall

Following the safety notice from WorkSafe, Fire and Emergency is asking our people to be on the lookout for Serene bathroom heater models: S2068, S207T, and S2069. The models in question have either been the cause of or have the potential to cause house fires.

Personnel completing Home Fire Safety Visits, we ask you to inspect households’ bathrooms to identify if they have one of the impacted models. The serial numbers can be found on top of the unit, and we advise staff to use a ladder to check this.

If you find a bathroom with one of the impacted models installed, advise the resident to stop using the heater and to contact the supplier, builder or electrician who installed the heater. Under the Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA) the resident is entitled to a refund, repair, or replacement of the heater.

For households that are rented, please ask the resident to contact their landlord and inform them of the impacted heater.

This safety notice serves as a timely reminder to our frontline crews to ensure they use the dropdown menu in SMS to log and notify WorkSafe of fires involving unsafe electrical devices.

More information about the safety notice/recall:

Serene S2068 Model

Testing has found these heaters are non-compliant with safety standards. A series of fires and overheating incidents are associated with these heaters. More recently, events have occurred outside the previously prohibited serial number range.

There is a significant risk of people being seriously harmed or property being damaged through use of these heaters.

Serene S207T Model

Testing has found these heaters are non-compliant with safety standards.

There is a low risk they may be unsafe, and Fire and Emergency are not aware of any fires or overheating events with these heaters.

Serene S2069 Model

Serene S2069 wall mounted bathroom heaters imported, purchased, or installed after June 2018 have had their approval withdrawn. This confirms they cannot be legally sold in New Zealand.

Serene S2069 heaters are non-compliant with safety standards. WorkSafe is currently investigating a reported fire associated with one of these units.

Read full WorkSafe’s Safety Notice(external link)