A Consumer Nightmare: The Mistral Fan Fires

In 1988, two young Australian children, Daniel and Matthew Stott, died in a house fire caused by a Mistral Gyro Aire Cooling Fan. The fire rapidly engulfed their bedroom, leading to a coroner's investigation that revealed a history of design flaws, corporate cover-ups, and regulatory failures surrounding the product.

Years before the Stott tragedy, consumers like Maria Carland had reported fires involving their Mistral fans. In 1987, she wrote to Mistral, pleading for action, but the company deflected responsibility. Despite internal memos acknowledging design flaws and the need for a recall as early as 1984, senior executives at Mistral and its then-parent company, Kemtron, failed to act, prioritizing financial expediency over public safety. These fans, particularly models GA 16-70 and Style 11, contained flammable plastic casings and faulty control designs that allowed them to ignite even when switched off.

The core problem lay in the interplay of inappropriate electronic components and a non-flame-retardant plastic casing. Design deficiencies in capacitors and resistors could lead to short circuits, causing components to overheat and burst into flames. The fan's motor would continue to operate, fueling the fire with oxygen circulated by the blades, while the plastic body provided combustible material, effectively turning the fan into a 'time bomb'.

The coroner criticized the inaction of the State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SECV) and the Metropolitan Fire Brigade. Mistral executives provided misleading information to the SECV, downplaying the fire risk by presenting the number of fires as a proportion of all fan sales rather than just the problematic models. A peculiar twist involved the fan's inventor, Les Milton, being on the SECV Approvals Board in 1985 when a decision was made against a recall. Mistral also made it difficult for insurers to get accurate information about the fires.

Mistral was aware of international flammability standards, even fabricating a sample to pass US tests, yet these standards were not fully applied in Australia until a significant delay. The lack of an obvious safety standard for fire safety in fans was a critical failing. Consumers, the victims of these fires, often had to repeatedly prove their damages, as Mistral adopted a 'litigious defensive stance' rather than conducting a thorough investigation, effectively discouraging accountability and assisting the corporation in avoiding its public responsibilities.