Firefighters have released a countdown of the ten faulty ‘white goods’ responsible for the most house fires in South Yorkshire.
The figures from South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue are being used to highlight a growth in the number of blazes caused by electrical equipment, with tumble dryers and washing machines topping the list of causes.
Cookers, dishwashers and fridge freezers complete the top five, with large electrical items responsible for more than 200 incidents since 2011.
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.
Manufacturers are required by law to notify people if they know one of their products poses a fire risk and needs to be recalled. But millions of faulty products remain in people’s homes.
Head of community safety Trevor Bernard, said: “Unfortunately, we can’t get round everyone’s home to check the safety of their electrics for them. But by raising awareness of the biggest safety issues. we hope we can give people the knowledge to check their own electrics and hopefully prevent a serious fire.
“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 sign up for product recall information at www.registermyappliance.org.uk
Or for more information about the fire service’s electrical safety campaign watch our safety video
No. of call outs relating to fires involving white goods (1 January 2011 to 30 April 2016)
Tumble dryer 42
Washing machine 37
Cooker/oven 34
Dishwasher 28
Fridge/Freezer 24
Microwave oven 14
Grill/Toaster 12
Spin dryer 8
Other cooking appliance 7
Washer/Dryer combined 4