Tower block fire ‘caused by tumble dryer’

A FAULTY tumble dryer which was subject to a safety notice caused a huge tower block fire, an investigation has found.

The blaze in an 18- storey building in August took 120 firemento extinguish.

It has led to the London Fire Brigade renewing its demands that white goods should be made safer.

The brigade said it believed a faulty Indesit tumble dryer was the cause of the fire, adding that parent company Whirlpool should change its advice to customers so that any dryers waiting to be modified are not used.

The company is currently offering to modify customers’ tumble dryers, but is saying they are safe to use in the meantime as long as they are not left unattended.

London Fire Brigade’s director of operations Dave Brown said: ‘Disappointingly, Whirlpool have still not changed their advice to consumers. Following an exhaustive examination of the scene and the remains of the appliance by our specialist fire investigators we remain satisfied the cause was the faulty dryer.’

Everyone was able to escape without serious injury from the tower block fire in Shepherd’s Bush, west London.

The blaze has been blamed on a fault with the tumble dryer which allowed excessive fluff to come into contact with the machine’s heating element.

Consumer minister Margot James said: ‘Whirlpool is making great efforts to modify and replace at-risk machines, but I believe additional action is required to reassure customers and the public.’

Whirlpool was not available for comment yesterday. In a statement last month it said: ‘ The safety of consumers is our number one priority and we are committed to doing everything we can to ensure that the tumble dryer modification programme is carried out in a safe and timely manner.’