THE FIRE DANGER OF FAULTY WHITE GOODS
Fire is the most devastating event in your home. Unlike flooding, it can happen anywhere and can often prove lethal. Few now have open fires – a big source of conflagration in past decades – while most people know not to smoke in bed or leave candles, however decorative, burning.
But one big fire source could be sitting in your kitchen. And it may even be the opposite of heat in the shape of a fridge or fridgefreezer. A fridge-freezer was held responsible for the Grenfell tragedy where 71 died and many more lost their homes.
A new Which? investigation, based on Freedom of Information requests, shows more than 60 house fires a week – around 3,000 a year – are due to faulty “white goods” – fridges, freezers, dishwashers, washing machines and tumble driers.
The consumer champion has written to the government putting it on notice to publish an action plan for its Office for Product Safety and Standards, an initiative launched last month (January) but Which? believes it “will fall woefully short of what is needed” without clearer focus.
Which? is campaigning to “End Dangerous Products”.
It wants fundamental reform to out of date product safety rules and for manufacturers and retailers to both remove unsafe appliances from sale and replace them in homes.
Faulty washing machines and tumble driers are the biggest cause of household fire, responsible for just over one in three incidents.
Other risky appliances include cookers and ovens, dishwashers, fridges, freezers and fridgefreezers.
But some makes of kitchen appliances cause more concern. Which? figures show Hotpoint and Indesit (both part of the Whirlpool group), Beko, Hoover and Haier are disproportionately involved.
The statistics compare market share – the amount each brand sells as part of the total – with fire incidents.
For instance, Hotpoint sells one in ten fridges (10%) and similar devices while this brand is responsible for one in six fires (17%), while Haier is linked to six per cent of washing machine fires although it only sells one per cent of the total.
Some of these brands have questioned the Fire and Rescue Service’s statistics on which the report is based. And they say that product failure is just one cause of kitchen fires.
Beko says it is taking “positive steps” to tackle safety concerns. Hoover says it fully complies with all safety laws. Haier says it no longer manufactures affected models.