HELP! TUMBLE DRYER ON FIRE! HELP! TUMBLE DRYER ON FIRE!

[BenoitMilner]

On the 28th December 2003 we purchased a condenser tumble dryer from a very well known LARGE warehouse store in Chingford, London with some of our wedding present money. My husband and I decided to get married after an 8 year engagement hoping to start 2004 with the utmost joy.
We were welcomed back from our short honeymoon 6th January to find that the tumble dryer caught light and had caused severe damage to our home. Our kitchen is totally gutted, the bathroom and the kids bedroom got hit too.
Thankfully, my older two sons escaped with their lives. The rest of the house is smoke and water damaged from the fire brigade in short… the house my family lived in for 20 years is now UNINHABITABLE.

The tumble dryer is currently under investigation to ascertain which component caused the fire but now the manufacturers have got involved, they seem to have put a delay on the whole process. The investigation is to find out which component failed so tremendously to cause the base of the machine to melt which according to the Fire Brigade would have had to have achieved temperatures of more than 700 degrees.

Unfortunately, with one thing and another, we were not insured…. and as a result, my elder boys are currently moving around, living with friends and family and my two younger children, my husband and I are living in my office as we have no where else to live.

Apart from seeking someone with a knowledge to our legal position (bearing in mind that we are still awaiting written confirmation) I am also posting this notice to let people be aware what can happen with faulty tumble dryers and how long manufacturers can delay recalling a product.

I will be creating a website displaying the devastation of our home shortly but in the meantime… any comments?

[kwatt]

Re: HELP! TUMBLE DRYER ON FIRE! HELP! TUMBLE DRYER ON FIR

BenoitMilner,

A similar tale of woe can be found here:

http://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/article-267–0-0.html

I’m really sorry to hear of your plight, can you give us more information like the make, model and age of the dryer?

Generally, IME, a manufacturer will refer a customer to their own household insurance should events like these happen unless it can be proved that they were actually at fault as such. If it was simply a component failure or the likes of fluff on the heater that ignited (which I’ve seen several times) then they probably won’t want to know about it sadly. 🙁

The problem is that on page 1 of virtually every instruction leaflet it clearly states that the appliance should not be left on and unattended, perfect get-out when things go wrong.

Not what you wanted to hear I’m sure, but that’s just my experience of it, but a lot will come down to the age of the appliance.

K.

[Dave_Conway]

Re: HELP! TUMBLE DRYER ON FIRE! HELP! TUMBLE DRYER ON FIR

It would be easier to comment if we knew which make and model the tumble dryer is/was. I would check first though before you divulge that information whether that may prejudice you’re case as this is a public domain.

By the way, I am sorry to learn of you’re sad tale, it is very unusual for appliances generally to cause this sort of damage.

Dave.

[BenoitMilner]

Re: HELP! TUMBLE DRYER ON FIRE! HELP! TUMBLE DRYER ON FIR

Wow what a speedy response… I truly wish the manufacturers would get back to me this quickly.

The tumble dryer was 8 days old, it was not unattended persay..as my 21 year old son was there at the time. It was the evening my husband and I was on our way back when my son noticed a burning electrical smell. He investigated this smell going into the kitchen checking the cooker, new washing machine and the tumble dryer also. He checked and emptied the condenser tray after checking the clothes inside were ok. .. they were still wet. My son decided that perhaps one of our neighbours was having a bomb fire and returned to the living room.
A few minutes later, he noticed smoke coming from the kitchen and found it so dense, he rushed out the house dragging his girlfriend behind him and called up to my other son who was in one of the bedrooms. The air flow must have caused a flashback as the fire brigade arrived very promptly, possibly within just a couple of minutes but the devastation caused so quickly.. you would not believe it.

As I said in my other posting… the fire brigade are convinced of the fire’s origin.. they have sent the dryer to the country’s top forensic lab who are working with the manufacturers to ascertain the exact faultyy component with a view to recall the line… this has so far taken 3 weeks.
I am afraid to list the manufacturer or retailers details in fear of legal reprisals.

[BenoitMilner]

Incidentally how did that story of the HOOVER Washing Machine end? http://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/article-267–0-0.html

[kwatt]

Re: HELP! TUMBLE DRYER ON FIRE! HELP! TUMBLE DRYER ON FIR

8 days old is not enough time for a blockage and even an installation problem should not have caused a fire hazard, such as an installation is for a condensor dryer.

You most likely have a strong case against the manufacturer for the damage caused then BenoitMilner especially if backed up by forensic evidence. Irrepective you have to go for it really. I doubt that you may have to fight the retailer as well though as in the other case I pointed out earlier as I think, but I’m not sure as I’m no lawyer, that this is covered by the Sale Of Goods Act and that means your gripe is with the retailer as the goods would be classed as not fit for the purpose. But I’d advise you to seek specialist legal advice on this.

I fully understand now why you would not wish to reveal the manufacturer of the appliance and you should not do so IMO. If you are allowed I’m sure we’d like to know once it’s all done and dusted for our own curiosity though if you don’t mind.

As for the other story I never did manage to find out how it was all resolved, most likely settled out of court I would expect.

K.

[BenoitMilner]

Re: HELP! TUMBLE DRYER ON FIRE! HELP! TUMBLE DRYER ON FIR

The tumble dryer is with independent forensics in Central London but everything seems to be taking so long. The court side of it I image will take an age but I can’t proceed with this until they put it in writing.

The family is so depressed about this whole nightmare.. my husband is a diabetic and is suffering so much.. my youngest has started to wet the bed… and a host of other things.

thanks for the tip about keeping knowledge of the whereabouts.. I will get in touch with the fire investigator to ascertain whether or not the manufacturers have taken it from the forensics. THANKS .. this is helpful

[Alex]

Re: HELP! TUMBLE DRYER ON FIRE! HELP! TUMBLE DRYER ON FIR

By all means involve your retailer in this as they have to cover statutory rights.

If made by a reputable manufacturer, they would take an interest in this case to avoid bad press. Some makers would consider covering this via their own insurance.

Electrolux group for example will send an engineer to inspect and complete an Alleged Incident Report form.

Please keep us updated as to the outcome whatever it may be.

[admin]

Re: HELP! TUMBLE DRYER ON FIRE! HELP! TUMBLE DRYER ON FIR

BenoitMilner wrote:The tumble dryer is with independent forensics in Central London but everything seems to be taking so long.

thanks for the tip about keeping knowledge of the whereabouts.. I will get in touch with the fire investigator to ascertain whether or not the manufacturers have taken it from the forensics. THANKS .. this is helpful

If the appliance is with a Consulting Scientists like Burgoynes in London I can assure you that they will not release your appliance to anyone, not even the manufacturer. They will more than likely inspect the appliance very carefully with the manufacturer, the manufacturer’s insurer and your insurer present. After that they will present a report to the insurance companies stating what part of the appliance, if any, caused the fire.

The insurance companies will then decide who is liable. It is true that this can take some time.

Regards
Richard

[BenoitMilner]

Thank you all for your very helpful responses… it has made me feel a lot stronger.

The tumble dryer is with forensics company called Stangers… I don’t think this would be an problem to say. I have had it confirmed that the tumble dryer is still with them.

The manufacturers are a household name so I am sure bad press especially if they are prolonging the findings it not something I believe they would relish.

I truly do hope they manage to finalise the written report soon. We don’t have any insurance of our own so there’s no one to support us until the confirmation is received.

[eastlmark]

Re: HELP! TUMBLE DRYER ON FIRE! HELP! TUMBLE DRYER ON FIR

mmmm, A brand new dryer catcing fire. a very rare occurance I think. Electrical burning smell? I hope the investigators have also taken the socket the appliance was plugged into. As a retailer myself, i would be interested to know which make it was though.

[BenoitMilner]

eastlmark wrote:mmmm, A brand new dryer catcing fire. a very rare occurance I think. Electrical burning smell? I hope the investigators have also taken the socket the appliance was plugged into. As a retailer myself, i would be interested to know which make it was though.

Surely eastlmark you would think that the PLUG would have been the FIRST THING the LONDON FIRE BRIGADE would have looked at.

The fire started from the SEAT of the appliance, THIS IS THEIR FINDINGS at the time, the FIRE BRIGADE are not stupid.. they would not have spent the time nor the money sending an appliance away to the country’s top forensic scientists without checking the USUAL SUSPECTS FIRST… plugs, sockets, FUSE BOX.

The fire pattern rose from the base of the appliance, the internal parts are so badly burned that forensics are finding it difficult to identify the exact component which caused the blaze……the plug was untouched.

Sorry if I sound a little sharp… but remarks like this are a little hard to take when you are homeless through no fault of your own.

[BenoitMilner]

Is there and engineer out there who can answer this please?

The tumble dryer was manufacturered by a well known company. If you look up the model number on the Internet, it’s called a ***( MANUFACTURERS NAME)****(MODEL NO) AMERICAN TUMBLE DRYER.

It is not called an AMERICAN TYPE tumble dryer and it unlike most British tumble dryers did not have a glass fronted door.

If this truly was an AMERICAN tumble dryer adapted for the UK market, do you think that an internal eliment which was not converted might cause a fire in the works of the system so bad that it would cause temperatures of more than 700 degrees?

Thanks,

[kwatt]

BenoitMilner I don’t think any offence was intended by Mark, merely a suggestion.

As for temps over 700 degrees I have no idea and I doubt any service engineer would do, but most US appliances I have seen in the UK, sold on the UK market are well adapted for sale in the EU and meet the CE approval requirements, or they should do.

What I can tell you though is that normally a tumble dryer would not go to such temperatures IME as that is very high indeed. Of course this is purely an opinion, but the only thing I can think of that could cause this is the failure of the thermostats that regulate the element, of course without knowing the make/model and configuration that is just pure speculation on my part but to me it’s the only possible cause of failure within the appliance itself given the facts described.

The only thing you can do now is IMHO, await the findings from the forensics and seek good legal advice from a solicitor that is well up on consumer legislation. Until the cause of the fire is ascertained for sure from an expert it’s pretty hard to go much further although I do hope you have contacted the retailer as well as the manufacturer.

K.

[BenoitMilner]

Thanks K for your comments. I know I just have to wait but the strain of the whole thing is tremendous on my family. It’s been three weeks, the court case etc will probably take months so this bit is so frustrating.
Comments made earlier regarding the whereabouts of the tumble dryer got a positive response from the London Fire brigade which was helpful so this forum has proved very useful in the short time I have posted this message.
I was told not to contact the retailer nor the manufacturers until the confirmation was in writing… was this wrong information? Do you think I should notify the retailer now?

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