Hammersmith MP Andy Slaughter has called for a debate in the Houses Of Parliament on the issue of Hotpoint, Indesit and Creda tumble dryer fires and safety.
This in the wake of a fire in a block of flats at the weekend that is believed (but not yet proven) to have been caused by an Indesit tumble dryer that we reported on the other day.
Mr Slaughter has written to Indesit with the following;
“Manufacturers advise that tumble dryers should only be used when the owner is in the property, but in this instance the resident was at home, but was unable to extinguish the fire before it took hold and spread through her flat.
“This advice is at best deficient, and at worst simply dangerous.
“I would be grateful if you could look into this as a matter of urgency and confirm what Indesit and the Whirlpool Corporation are doing to deal with this issue properly.
“I have now written to Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy about this issue, and I plan on raising this issue in Parliament after recess.”
Now we’ve been over this ground before and we explain in several articles, including the tumble dryer safety tips one, what cause fires in tumble dryers and generally speaking what goes on fire in a dryer is the lint that is collected. The only way the lint can build up is if the filters are not maintained properly and, there’s really no way around that problem presently.
Quite how MPs can cause a sea change in how people use and maintain their tumble dryers is beyond us but heh, we’ll see what happens.
What Whirlpool can do, in the absence of a magic wand to solve it faster, who knows.
Sorry, we do realise people might not like it but we live in the real world, the one where there’s not enough engineers to modify these dryers as fast as might be ideal or, enough production capacity to replace much (if any) faster.
Of course the LFB have weighed in on it big time but when you break down what’s actually been said things get a bit interesting.
An LFB spokesperson has said that: “We want this change because we attend nearly one fire a day involving white goods.
“While there is a fire risk people should not use their appliance until it has been checked and repaired.”
Right so, the LFB say they attend a fire every day that involves white goods, or large kitchen appliances we presume as it’s not specifically stating if that statement also loops in small appliances like toaster, dryers and so on.
This is not news.
Every week we see reports of fire incidents that are appliance related from all over the world but very importantly and we stress, that does not mean one tumble dryer fire a day. Some people will misinterpret that statement we believe and think there’s one of these dryers going up every day and, that is not the case.
So here’s the list of why the LFB thinks that the advice from Whirlpool is incorrect:
1. The safety notice was issued due to the danger of fire and any fire has the potential to endanger life and property.
2. It’s impractical for most people to remain with an appliance for the duration of a drying cycle.
3. If the dryer does catch fire while it’s attended this still presents a risk to the occupants.
4. If the owner attempts to put out a fire in an appliance they could be putting their life at risk. The Brigade’s advice is to not risk tackling the fire, always raise the alarm, get out, stay out and call 999.
5. The time a fire may break out because of a fault is unpredictable. The ignition of fluff accumulated around a heating element may cause a smouldering fire which might not be discovered until the appliance has finished being used and the owner has gone to bed.
Most of the advice the LFB issues we wholeheartedly support as it is usually utterly sensible and very good but we do take issue with point two here as, no appliance should be left running unattended whether that’s impractical or not, it is dangerous.
If you choose to do that, it’s on you. It is carried out totally at the risk of the owner as any appliance has the potential to have a problem and, in very rare circumstances it could be serious.
Yes it is very sad when fires or other accidents occur and we really do feel for people that have problems like this as, it’s devastating but often we will find that there are reasons why these things happen and, all too often it will not be the fault of the machines.
It could be argued that they should be made to be safer, to be able to cope with the issues that we see but that could compromise the ease of use and huge convenience that domestic appliances offer users and if it were possible, could add significant cost to buyers. Perhaps even introduce new problems.
In the meantime everyone should stay safe and follow the golden rules set out in the tumble dryer safety tips, regardless of what tumble dryer brand you own.
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