Two families terrified after botched air conditioner almost explodes

A Redlands mother and Logan woman shared their frightening experience with air conditioners that almost exploded, as a dodgy Logan tradie was also fined $40,000 for unsafe work practices.

Jennifer Veitch and Orrey Wilson

A Redlands mother and Logan woman have shared their frightening experiences with air conditioners that almost exploded, as Health and Safety Officers crack down on dodgy tradies.

Redlands mother Jennifer Veitch’s air conditioner almost blew up and the faulty equipment nearly burnt down her home in 2019.

The air conditioner was installed by Gold Coast man Orrey Wilson, who Ms Veitch alleges was responsible for the incident.

“The power board shorted out and basically you could see where it nearly caught fire. It fried the inside of the machine and caught fire on the inside of the airconditioning unit,” she said.

“You don’t put a 2.5 kilowatt table in to a 7.5 kilowatt machine.

“I was in tears, I was so upset. I finally got airconditioning installed and it failed because the installer was dodgy without a proper license.”

The Electrical Safety Act states an employer or self-employed person must conduct their business in a way that is electrically safe.

“While such events may not always result in death, they can still have a serious impact on your health, including burns, damage to the nervous system, brain, sensory and motor organs, heart and lungs. A shock can also throw you off balance resulting in fall injuries,” the act said.

Logan resident Alexis Jannah also said her air conditioner was installed by Wilson and she has had several issues.

“This man also installed my air conditioner and we have had many electrical problems since. He rewired the power box and now the whole house cuts out if we plug more than two appliances in at once,” said Ms Jannah.

“We had to get an electrician out who said ours would have caught fire because it was wired wrong. The electrician said we were lucky we called in time.”

Ms Vietceh and Ms Jannah’s distressing claims come on the back of the unlicensed sparky being fined $40,000 on February 7 in a Logan court for conducting electrical work without a license and failing to comply with health and safety standards.

No charges were laid in relation to work done at Ms Vietech’s Redlands home or Ms Jannah’s home and Orrey Robert Wilson was contacted for comment regarding the allegations.

Wilson, 34, pleaded guilty in Beenleigh Magistrates Court to one count of conducting an undertaking without holding an electrical license and five counts of failing to comply with health and safety duties and exposing an individual to risk of death, serious illness or injury.

The court heard the Gold Coast man unsafely installed air conditioners from December 13, 2019 to May 27, 2020 in Bethania, Crestmead, Acacia Ridge, Slacks Creek and Inala.

Prosecution told the court Wilson was the holder of an Australian Refrigeration Council license, which allowed him to install air conditioners but he needed a trained electrician alongside him for any electrical work.

Wilson advertised his work to customers on Facebook and Humm Finance.

The court heard the work was below standard, dangerous and Magistrate Mark Howden said Wilson needed to be punished as an example to the community.

“You overstepped the mark and went too far, you went beyond your license,” he said.

Wilson was fined $40,000 and no conviction was recorded.