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
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.
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.
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.