Calgary woman still seeking explanation after glass dining table exploded

It’s been a month and a half since Zarifa Hniedi’s tempered glass dining table top spontaneously exploded and she still hasn’t received any answers from The Brick, the store she purchased it at.

"I think it’s a manufacturer defect personally," said Hniedi.

"But I don’t know for a fact. I just wanted an explanation and all they said is there is no warranty on the glass and there is nothing we can do."

Hniedi bought the dining table set last summer and received it in October. One morning in mid-January, while her family was still sleeping, there was a noise from the kitchen and then hundreds of tiny pieces of glass went flying around the house.

"We had glass all the way in the cupboard and we are still finding chips of glass. All the way down to the basement and we even had glass all the way to the front door."

Hniedi says no one was in the kitchen and nothing was placed on the dining table.

She says she contacted customer services at The Brick online, by email and phone. She says a representative responded and said they’d look into it. She eventually received a phone call, but says they told her she wouldn’t get a refund and there would be no investigation.

Hniedi says she doesn’t want her money back. She wants answers.

"I know there is no warranty on the glass but at least do an investigation into why this has happened. Maybe there is a product recall, maybe they need to alert other customers that had bought the same brand or model."

An expert with Diamond Glass says tempered glass is meant to shatter into small pieces. This could make it safer compared to untempered glass, which may have broken into larger shards.

And while spontaneous glass explosion is rare and a cause is difficult to determine, temperature changes or small deficiencies or cracks can be a trigger.

Hniedi is still waiting to learn what happened to hers.

"This is a safety concern. We bought a ticking bomb and it exploded. Our lives would’ve been in danger if we were sitting at that table. Luckily that did not happen but what if another customer buys the same model and that happens to them?"

'A rare incident': The Brick responds 

A spokesperson for The Brick echoed the thoughts expressed by Diamond Glass, saying that tempered glass is designed specifically so that if it breaks, it breaks into little pieces.  

"This is a rare occurrence but does happen as a result of hard contact or heat to the glass," said Gregory Nakonechny in an email to CTV Calgary. "Contact or heat may expose an imperfection in the glass and cause the shattering. Shattering is preferred as large pieces of glass that may result from a breakage are more hazardous."

Nakonechny said The Brick instigated a review of the product to identify if there were concerts that it is hazardous or may be defective.   

"The product in the circumstances behaved as it is designed," he said. "We also have confirmed that this a rare incident and are not aware of other similar incidents with respect to this product."

Nakonechny said The Brick has since contacted the customer and addressed her concerns.

Hniedi says though The Brick offered to replace the tabletop, she no longer wants the table.

She said she will be meeting with a director from The Brick to discuss the next steps they can take.