Astonishing number of fires caused by faulty dryers.
Faulty Indesit dryers have caused 750 fires over the last 11 years. The company sold millions of the affected machines across Europe under the Indesit, Hotpoint and Creda brands. Most of the fires were contained within the machines, but others spread to cause enormous damage, the company has admitted to UK media.
Indesit said at least two household consumers had suffered smoke inhalation injuries and a third was burnt. Many more people had to run for their lives and a number of pets died. Owners of the dryers will have to wait up to five weeks before hearing when their machines will be made safe.
The Chief Fire Officers Association said appliance blazes called for an improved system of product safety recalls.
Spokesman Andy Reynolds said, “Manufacturers should not be selling any products that are not safe. A tumble dryer is the sort of thing people put on before going to bed. But that creates a risk and people may die as a result.”
“Only 20-30% of electrical products involved in a recall are fixed. The rest are sitting in people’s homes,” he said.
The body is calling for people buying large appliances to register the purchase, including their address, at the point of sale. This will allow companies to trace machines if a safety problem emerges.
Law firm Leigh Day is representing a number of consumers victim to house fires linked to household appliances.
Solicitor, Jill Paterson, said, “We have continually called for manufacturers of household appliances to identify problems early and make greater efforts to contact consumers who have purchased products that they have identified as being potentially dangerous.”
“This latest recall underlines the urgent need for changes to the UK’s product recall system. We don’t yet know how long the company has known about the potential fire risk with these products, but a joined-up regulatory system may have highlighted the issue earlier,” Paterson added.