Tumble dryers still spark two blazes a day 200 are killed or injured in 3 years
Fire broke out as baby slept
FAULTY tumble dryers could be responsible for two house fires every day.
They have sparked 2,218 blazes in three years, killing or injuring nearly 200 people.
Fire service figures analysed by the Sunday Mirror show 725 caught fire in 2017/18 – the latest period for which stats are available.
Some 77 people were killed or hurt – compared to 58 the previous 12 months. In many cases, makes and models are unknown. But of those recorded, over 240 models from firms owned by Whirlpool – such as Hotpoint – caught fire.
Last night campaigners accused the giant US firm of
1. Hotpoint (Whirlpool)
2. Indesit (Whirlpool) 3. Hoover
4. White Knight 5. Creda (Whirlpool) dragging its feet over an issue that was first exposed in 2015. Two years later, a coroner ruled a blaze blamed on one of its dryers killed two men in Wales.
Caroline Normand, of Which?, said: “It’s unacceptable that Whirlpool was allowed to put corporate reputation ahead of public safety for years before the Government enforced a recall.”
In July Whirlpool finally launched a full recall and admitted
6. Beko 7. Bosch 8. Zanussi 9. Bush 10. Proline (Whirlpool) and Miele 800,000 dryers could be faulty in UK homes.
Our figures are compiled from fire brigade call- outs. Whirlpool said: “Claims based on this data can be misleading as incidents often occur due to a combination of factors.
“It is not uncommon for conclusions to be revised once all evidence is fully investigated.
“Hotpoint has been a leader for over 100 years with market share in tumble dryers, the highest in the industry.” JEMMA Spurr’s £200 Hotpoint dryer caught fire in her garage as her baby slept upstairs.
The mum of four said: “I was hoovering and I could smell burning. There were flames licking up the front of the machine. It was terrifying.
“So many of our belongings were destroyed and we spent two weeks in a hotel.”
The fire happened in September last year but it took Whirlpool, which owns Hotpoint, nearly a year to apologise.
Jemma, 36, of Southampton, received £1,100 compensation.
“No other family should have to go through this,” she said. “It could have been so much worse. They knew about this issue in 2015 and have been sluggish at best at acting.”