The killer in the kitchen: White goods are causing 60 fires a week

FAULTY white goods are causing more than 60 house fires a week and action to remove defective machines is falling ‘woefully short’, Which? has warned.

Washing machines and tumble dryers are the most dangerous appliances, causing 35 per cent of fires from April 2014 to April 2016. cookers and ovens also caused 11 per cent of fires, the investigation by Which? revealed, while fridges, freezers and fridge-freezers account for 8 per cent. The Grenfell Tower disaster which killed 71 is believed to have been caused by a Hotpoint fridge-freezer.

The consumer watchdog has now written to ministers, giving them 90 days to publish an action plan for the newly-launched Office for Product safety and standards.

Which? demanded to know the ‘true scale’ of product safety risks in the UK and how long it will take to recall one million potentially dangerous Whirlpool-made tumble dryers still in homes.

The Which? letter to ministers is part of a campaign by the group calling for ‘fundamental reform of the UK’s antiquated product safety regime to keep dangerous products out of our homes’.

it includes the demand that manufacturers and retailers immediately remove unsafe products from the market and homes. Which? chief executive Peter Vicary-smith said: ‘it’s shocking that there are more than 60 house fires every week in the UK because of faulty appliances. People will undoubtedly be worried to hear our findings that some of the most common household appliances represent a disproportionate risk of causing a fire due to being faulty.’

The Office for Product safety and standards is being urged to create an easily accessible, comprehensive database of recalled products. A Government spokesman said its top priority is to keep people safe and it intends to ‘further strengthen the UK’s already tough product safety system’.