Revealed: white goods that cause most fires

Government data list kitchen appliances that may be responsible for up to 60 blazes a day

THE kitchen white goods that may be responsible for the most house fires have been revealed for the first time.

A total of 60 fires a day across the UK are caused by fridges, dishwashers, washing machines and tumble dryers, Freedom of Information request data obtained from the Home Office, Scottish Fire and Recuse Service, and the Welsh and Northern Irish assemblies show.

Faulty washing machines and tumble dryers are the most high-risk appliances, causing more than a third of fires between April 1 2014 and March 31 2016, data collected by Which? showed.

Hoover and Hotpoint washing machines were found to have been involved in a higher percentage of identifiable fire incidents than expected, given the size of their market share. According to the analysis, faulty Hoover washing machines were involved in about 12 per cent of fires where the brand was identified.

Among tumble dryers, Which? found Haier machines were identified in a number of fires six times the expected amount given its market share. Haier made up 1 per cent of the market but its models were identified in 6 per cent of dryer-related fires. Hotpoint dryers were linked to almost a third (31 per cent) of fires caused by faulty dryers where the brand was identified, but the company has a market share of 25 per cent. Other high-risk appliances include cookers and ovens, which caused 11 per cent of fires, dishwashers (10 per cent), and fridges, freezers and fridge freezers (8 per cent).

Over five years, Hotpoint fridges, freezers and fridge freezers were linked to nearly one in five (17 per cent) of all identifiable refrigeration fires Which? found, despite Hotpoint’s estimated market share accounting for just 10 per cent of the market.

Haier told Which? that the affected models were no longer being made.

Hoover said it was committed to appliance safety and said it fully complied with all safety laws. A spokesman for Whirlpool, which owns the Hotpoint brand, said: “These claims are based on unreliable and inaccurate data. The Government has advised that the accuracy of Fire and Rescue Service incident data cannot be guaranteed.”

A spokesman from Beko said: “We strongly dispute the claims made by Which? and do not recognise much of the data used in their research. We fully investigate every potential incident related to a Beko product that we are made aware of.”