‘Label fail makes fire-cause appliances hard to identify’
FIRE officers are increasingly unable to identify appliances that cause blazes in homes because labels are not fire-proof, a consumer watchdog has warned.
Analysis of the most recent UK fire data showed 3,203 were caused by faulty white goods such as tumble dryers and fridge-freezers; more than 60 a week on average. Investigators could only identify crucial information about the brand or model in 33% of the cases, between April 2016 and March 2017, Which? said. Yet three years ago, the make and model could be determined in almost half of white-goods fires. Alex Neill, of Which?, said: “The Government must set out how it will ensure manufacturers use fire-proof labelling, so that dangerous white goods can be quickly removed from homes and potentially save lives.”