Warning issued after tumble dryer catches fire
14 September, 2007
Every year, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service attends an average 45 house fires caused by faulty kitchen appliances, including washing machines, tumble dryers, fridge freezers and dishwashers but excluding cooking appliances.
This equates to about 6% of the total number of accidental dwelling fires in Nottinghamshire.
Stapleford
The most recent of these was last week, when crews were called to a building fire in the centre of Stapleford caused when a tumble dryer caught fire.
Although the quick response of both the occupiers and the Fire and Rescue Service prevented the fire from escalating, firefighters say the incident could easily have become more serious.
Watch Manager Paul Cooper of Beeston Fire Station explains: “The cause of this fire, and the majority of tumble dryer fires, is the amount of fluff which gets trapped behind the drum over a long period of time, which is then pushed into the heating elements of the dryer.
Fluff
“In this case the machine was not only old, but the vent pipe outlet in the wall was considerably smaller than the machine’s vent pipe so a build up of fluff occurred over time.
”Our advice is that if the machine is old it is best to get it specially cleaned by experts, or consider replacing the old machine with a new one.
“It is important to never leave a washing machine, tumble dryer or any other household appliance running while you are in bed or out of the house – if it does ignite it might only be matter of minutes before the fire takes hold, causing serious damage to the property and even endangering life.”
By Editor.
