On Friday evening, a tumble dryer caused a fire on Welbeck Road, Walkley just before 6pm. The blaze was discovered by the occupant’s sun and Rivelin and Central firefighters arrived to put the fire out using a hose reel. The house was smoke logged and firefighters used specialist equipment to ventilate the property.
A second fire started on Southend Place, Sheffield just before 1am on Sunday. The tumble dryer caught fire in the kitchen and the house was heavily smoke logged. A woman escaped unharmed and it’s thought the fire started due to a build up of paper at the rear of the appliance. Central firefighters tackled the blaze.
South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue says it has attended 117 house fires involving tumble dryers since 2011, with faults with appliances responsible for three quarters of the incidents.
Last year a major product recall was issued and owners of large air-vented dryers and condensing dryers under the Hotpoint, Indesit and Creda brands were told they may need to have them fixed.
Head of community safety Trevor Bernard, said: “Registering an appliance ensures you receive important safety messages about the item you possess.
“For consumers, we know that returning a recalled product is not always convenient, especially if it’s an item that you use every day, but recall notices are issued to keep people safe. The small inconvenience of returning a recalled item is worth it when you consider that faulty products can electrocute or cause a fire.”
You can find out whether an electrical product you own has been recalled via the Electrical Safety Council website http://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/product-recalls/
You can sign up for product recall information at www.registermyappliance.org.uk