Tumble dryer led to death
A DEFECTIVE tumble dryer caused a house fire that killed a Birmingham mother-of-two, a coroner has ruled.
Mishell Moloney was discovered dead under a duvet on the bedroom floor by her daughter and sister on February 7 after they smashed their way through a rear patio door to get in.
The 49-year-old was found to have died after being overcome by carbon monoxide fumes and smoke caused by a small fire in the tumble dryer in the kitchen.
Birmingham Coroner’s Court heard that dryer manufacturer Beko had received reports of 20 previous fires in the same model, but none had the defect thought to have caused the blaze that killed Ms Moloney.
Emma Brown, area coroner for Birmingham and Solihull, said: “It is my conclusion that Mishell’s death was due to smoke inhalation from a fire that was caused by the Beko tumble dryer within her kitchen. The source within the tumble dryer was the printed control board. It’s not possible to identify the nature of the defect which caused the fire.
“Mishell was aware of a problem with the tumble dryer before the fire because she turned the machine off.
“She obviously thought she’d dealt with it and went to bed, intending to sort it subsequently.”
An investigation at the house in Coriander Close, Rubery, found that the fire started in, or around, the area where the dryer’s circuit board was.