Whirlpool named as ‘worst fire offenders’

Shocking new figures collated by the London Fire Brigade have shown that Whirlpool white goods cause three times as many blazes as the nearest major manufacturer. 

In a study of emergencies attended by the London Fire Brigade, there have been 2,891 fires in homes and buildings where white goods have been responsible. 

According to the figures, brands under the Whirlpool corporation, including machines made by Hotpoint, Indesit, ProLine, Creda and Swan. 

London Fire Brigade has released figures showing that white goods such as washer-dryers have been responsible for almost 2,900 fires in homes and buildings in the capital since 2009

This fire in Shepherds Bush Green is believed to have been caused by faulty Hotpoint washer dryer in August 2016 which led to more than 50 people being evacuated from their homes 

This fire in Shepherds Bush Green is believed to have been caused by faulty Hotpoint washer dryer in August 2016 which led to more than 50 people being evacuated from their homes 

The Grenfell Tower disaster is believed to have been caused by a Hotpoint fridge freezer

The Grenfell Tower disaster is believed to have been caused by a Hotpoint fridge freezer

Of the fires included on the list, there have been ten deaths and 348 injuries.

The Grenfell fire, which claimed the lives of 70 people is believed to have been started by a Hotpoint fridge/freezer. 

Whirlpool, which owns the Hotpoint, Indesit, Proline, Creda and Swan brands told The Guardian: ‘Whirlpool is unable to verify this data and therefore is unable to speculate.’

MPs have condemned companies for failing to implement effective recall procedures when dangerous products such as washer-dryers have been identified. 

Last month, MPs heard Whirlpool sold five million of the machines and as many as two million, which could catch fire, are sitting in kitchens.

It was claimed some of these dryers still ‘pose a real live threat to consumers in their own homes’. 

The company first admitted there was a problem in 2015 by which time 750 fires – dating back to 2006 – had been linked to machines sold under the Indesit, Hotpoint and Creda brands.

Rather than issuing a full recall, Whirlpool said people could continue to use the dryers under supervision until engineers were sent out to repair them.

Number of fires in London since 2009 attributed to Whirlpool White Goods 
Whirlpool Hotpoint Indesit Proline Creda Swan TOTAL
69 502 257 12 51 4 895
Source: London Fire Brigade 

Subsequently, one of the machines caused a fire in a tower block in Shepherds Bush in August 2016, driving 50 families out of their homes.

The fire occurred six months after Whirlpool was warned by fire chiefs that its advice that people could continue to use the machines was wrong. 

Some of these same machines also have a faulty door mechanism that has been linked to 20 fires and the deaths of two people in Wales. As yet, Whirlpool has not put in place any system to fix this fault. 

Number of fires in London since 2009 attributed to white goods by company 
Brand Total
Whirlpool 895
Bosch 276
Hoover 209
Beko 191
AEG 157
TOTAL 1728
Source: London Fire Brigade 

The figures were released to solicitors Leigh Day as a result of a Freedom of Information request. 

Jill Paterson, a solicitor in Leigh Day’s product safety and consumer law team, who represents a number of people affected by the Shepherd’s Bush fire and the families of two men who died in an appliance fire in north Wales in 2014, said: ‘The deaths and injuries caused by fires in white goods are unacceptable and the devastating psychological effects are often not acknowledged, considered or understood.

‘The most dangerous white goods in our homes are washing machines, tumble dryers and refrigerators. No one expects them to catch fire, let alone kill or injure them.

‘An effective recall system is needed to ensure that manufacturers recall dangerous white goods in a timely and effective fashion.’

In total the figures identified 2,891 fires where white goods, such as washing machines, dryers or fridge freezers were suspected as being responsible. Firefighters were not able to positively identify the manufacturer or the brand in just over 1,000 cases. 

The Electrical Safety First charity said five fires every day in England can be attributed to faulty fridges, freezers, tumble dryers and other kitchen appliances.  

The charity claims that under current recall rules, less than 20 per cent of the items identified as a fire risk are ever traced and fixed.

As a result, millions of fridges and tumble dryers known to be dangerous remain in homes. 

In August 2016, a blaze caused by a faulty tumble dryer subject to a safety recall by Whirlpool ripped through a tower block in Shepherd’s Bush, west London, and in 2009, six people died when a fire broke out at Lakanal House in Camberwell, south London. It is believed to have been started by an electrical fault in a television. 

MailOnline has asked Whirlpool for a comment.  

Hotpoint tumble dryer ‘probably caused’ fire which killed two men  

A faulty Hotpoint tumble dryer was the probable cause of a fire that killed two people as they slept following an inquest in September. 

Restaurant manager Doug McTavish, 39, and chef Bernard Hender, 19, both died in their flat in Llanrwst, North Wales in October 2014. 

The pair were drying towels from the restaurant where they worked when the blaze broke out. 

Doug McTavish, 39, died when a fire caused by a faulty tumble dryer ripped through his flat

Bernard Hender, 19, also died in the October 2014 blaze

Doug McTavish, 39, left, and Bernard Hender, 19, right, both died in their sleep after a faulty tumble dryer caught fire at their flat in Llanrwst, North Wales in October 2014

Landlord Garry Lloyd Jones, 50, survived the blaze. 

Firefighters said they encountered 18-inch high flames when they arrived at the scene.

An independent expert appointed by insurers pinpointed ‘untoward electrical activity’ in the door switch as the probable cause. 

Whirlpool had flown in experts from America to contest the claims at Ruthin County Hall, Denbighshire, and said the fire could have been started in the flat’s light switch or in an iron.

But assistant coroner David Lewis ruled yesterday after a five-day inquest that ‘on the balance of probabilities’, the door switch of the dryer was the cause.

Mr Lewis also rejected the firm’s theory that the fire could have started by spontaneous combustion in the towels after the drying cycle had finished.

Giving a narrative verdict, he said he found Whirlpool’s experts ‘to be less than compelling’.

Mr Lewis said he was considering whether to make a ‘prevention of further deaths’ warning and gave Whirlpool two weeks to make submissions to him. 

Pet cats killed in blaze caused by a 10-year-old faulty tumble dryer 

A family returned home after a trip to the supermarket to find their home devastated by a tumble dryer fire that destroyed everything and killed their cats.

Alan Beal and partner Nikki Coop, both 35 and from Bolton, did not have contents insurance and say they have ‘lost 99 per cent’ of their belongings in the blaze.

The fire happened while no one was home, aside from their cats Smokey and Fluffy, and is believed to have been sparked by a faulty 10-year-old tumble dryer.

Mr Beal had loaded the dryer while he made a quick trip to the supermarket to buy food for an evening meal with his four-year-old daughter Ruby and son, Lucas, 10.

On his return he found the house ablaze and the fire service at the property after a neighbour had called.

He tried to shield Ruby and Lucas from the distressing scene and took them to his in-laws home, on the opposite side of the street.

Mr Beal, who works for Tesco Mobile, then made a desperate bid to save his cats from the burning house.

He said: ‘I tried to get into the house to save the cats but I couldn’t get in.

‘I had to try, but the smoke was too thick, within two feet of getting in the door I couldn’t see or breathe.’

‘Personally, that’s the worst thing, that’s what hurts the most. I had a bad injury a few years ago and that was when we got the older cat, Smokey.

‘I couldn’t move, I was off work for three or four months and she looked after me.

‘Emotionally, the burying of the cats on Sunday morning was the hardest, because it was so fresh.

‘The fire service were really good and wrapped them in blankets and put them out the back. First thing Sunday morning, I went and buried them.’ 

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