A Newcastle insulation company, registered with the Federal Government's Home Insulation Program, has become the first installer in the country to be fined for shoddy work that is believed to have caused a house fire in Western Sydney.

Dowco Pty Ltd, trading as ABC Insulation, was fined $10,000 plus costs last Friday at Parramatta Local Court after breaching section 44 (b) of the Fair Trading Act 1987 for falsely representing a service. The Director of the company was fined $2,000 plus costs for the same offence.

Fair Trading Minister Virginia Judge welcomed the court’s decision.

“This court result sends a clear message to NSW traders, including insulation installers, that Fair Trading will not hesitate to go after companies that don’t comply with the law,” she said.

Last October, ABC Insulation was contracted by a Dean Park homeowner to remove existing ceiling insulation and install new roofing batts.

“Two days later, the residents woke to find their house on fire,” Ms Judge said.

“Luckily no one was injured in this fire, but there was substantial damage to the home.”

Ms Judge said the NSW Fire Brigades determined the fire was caused by overheating of electrical wiring and downlights, which had been covered by insulation batts.

“Fair Trading also examined the site and found the old insulation had not been entirely removed from the roof area and the new insulation had not been installed in accordance with the Federal Government’s insulation guidelines,” she said.

While the insulation rebate scheme has now closed, there are 460,000 homes in New South Wales that have been fitted with roofing batts since the program was introduced on 1 July 2009.

“Fair Trading is continuing to investigate other installers and has directly intervened in a number of cases to help resolve consumers’ complaints,” Ms Judge said.

The NSW Fire Brigades has advised Fair Trading that since 1 January 2009, more than 70 houses have been damaged by fires caused by incorrect installation of insulation.

Homeowners with any concerns should immediately contact the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts on 1800 808 571 or Fair Trading on 13 32 20.

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