Faulty fridge caused fire which claimed dad’s life
A FAULTY fridge sparked a blaze which claimed a father’s life after he was forced to leap from a window.
John Wilson, who was seriously ill, jumped out of an upstairs room when a Beko fridge freezer caused a fire, an inquest heard.
The 63-year-old broke several bones when he fell on to a mattress. He also suffered smoke inhalation and burns and passed away in hospital three days later.
Flames gutted the property following the explosion of an oxygen canister, used by John after a lung transplant.
Mr Wilson’s daughter Danielle, 23, a nurse who lived with her parents at the time, told how the floor fell from underneath her as she clung terrified from an upstairs window. Incredibly, she managed to pull herself up through a window and on to the roof, before leaping to the ground. She suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung.
Ten people were injured in the blast, in August 2016, in Curzon Road in Ashton-under-Lyne.
Stockport Coroner’s Court on April 11 concluded that a fault with a Beko fridge-freezer subject to a product recall caused the fire.
Around half a million Beko fridge freezers were made between 2000 and 2006 with a faulty defrost timer which can catch fire.
Danielle said: “My dad would still be here if they had properly recalled all these machines.”
James Bolton, of law firm Leigh Day who represented the Wilson family at the inquest, said: “It is crucial that manufacturers have effective methods for informing customers of safety notices and recalls.”
A spokesperson for Beko said: “Our sympathies are with the relatives and friends of Mr Wilson and his family. We deeply regret any incident linked to one of our products. Extensive efforts were made to recall the product.”
He said the product involved in this incident has not been produced since late 2006.