Watchdog urges fire-proof labels on white goods to help firefighters

Fire investigators are increasingly unable to identify white goods that cause domestic fires, leading to a call to fireproof labelling on appliances.

Consumer group Which? said people’s lives were potentially at risk as investigators could only identify informationabouttheappliancebrand or model in a third of fires.

The watchdog found that, of the 3,203 fires caused by faulty appliances between 1 April, 2016 and 31 March, 2017, investigators could only find the crucial information in 33 per cent of cases. The figure is a significant drop on the previous three years.

The fall means it is becoming increasingly difficult for authorities to link dangerous products to domestic fires and gather the necessary evidence to initiate a product recall, Which? said.

It is calling for the Office for Product Safety and Standards to include commitments in its forthcoming strategy to ensure that manufacturers use fireproof labelling on all appliances so that unsafe white goods can be identified.

The watchdog suggested stamping a unique identification number such as a serial code into a small metal plate and placing it on the appliance as a practical way of ensuring identification, similar to the vehicle identification number (VIN) used to identify cars.

Alex Neill, Which? managing director of home products and services, said: “The government must set out in its forthcoming product safety strategy how it will ensure that manufacturers use fireproof labelling on all of their appliances, so that identified dangerous white goods can be quickly removed from people’s homes, and potentially save lives.”