Exploding dishwasher could have burned our house down
BLACK soot, broken crockery and charred units were all that was left of a family’s kitchen after their dishwasher exploded.
Kelly Clarke, 35, was preparing for her daughter’s seventh birthday party when she saw flames coming from the machine.
The estate agent managed to escape with her son Finley, two, and her mother Carol. In just four minutes, she watched her house succumb to the blaze.
The Hotpoint appliance then exploded, scattering debris across the kitchen and spreading thick black smoke throughout the home in Basildon, Essex.
The fire is the latest to involve white goods after hundreds of homes and kitchens have been gutted by malfunctioning appliances.
Mrs Clarke had been setting up decorations for her daughter Isabelle’s birthday on April 15 when the drama started. Firemen arrived within four minutes and used breathing equipment to tackle the blaze.
Now Mrs Clarke, her plasterer husband Scott, 37, and their two children have been forced to move out as the damage has left their home uninhabitable.
She said the dishwasher ‘was on as normal when there was a bit of a bang. There was smoke coming out from the door. I said “I think it’s on fire” and we just got out of the property. Flames were coming out of the dishwasher. It was so scary.
‘In the four minutes it took the fire brigade to turn up it all went up. I just sat and watched smoke come out of every window of my house.’
Mrs Clarke said the fire was so severe that if she sits on the sofa, puffs of smoke come out of it.
Hotpoint offered a replacement appliance, but she refused.
She said: ‘I am livid. I do not want any Hotpoint appliance in my home ever again. We can’t live there now. Our entire kitchen is burnt.’
The mother-of-two added: ‘It was lucky I was in the house planning Isabelle’s birthday because if I wasn’t, the whole house could have burned down.’
Last year a report revealed faulty kitchen appliances have caused 12,000 fires in three years.
The fires, involving fridges, dishwashers and tumble dryers, resulted in massive damage, injury and deaths, the Which? study found.
Separate figures from the London Fire Brigade pointed to 71 serious injuries and seven deaths linked to blazes caused by household appliances in the capital since 2010.
Which? said its research suggests Hoover washing machines and Hotpoint dishwashers were a bigger fire risk than other brands, however this was categorically rejected by the firms.
A Hotpoint spokesman said last night: ‘Safety is our number one priority and we investigate all reported incidents thoroughly as soon as we are made aware of them.’