Faulty appliances cause 43 fires a week, research finds | ElectricalDirect

Household appliances cause 15k accidental fires a year in England, and there are big brand names responsible.

Everyday household appliances caused 15,000 accidental fires in homes across England between April 2019 and March 2020, research by ElectricalDirect found.

The study revealed that cookers, toasters, and hobs were the most likely to cause fires. Cookers were responsible for 8,000 accidental fires in 2019/20, 53% of total appliance fires in England. Hot plates and toasters came second and third, causing 11% and 9% of fires respectively.

The most common causes for accidental appliance fires were placing household items too close to sources of heat, misuse of appliances and reported faults.

The top 10 household appliances most likely to cause an accidental fire

Faulty appliances accounted for 15% of appliance fires

Of the accidental appliance fires in 2019/20, 2.2k (15%) of them were caused by the appliance being faulty, which is 43 a week.

The biggest culprits were washing machines, accountable for nearly a quarter (23%) of the faulty appliance fires. Tumble dryers (20%) and cookers (9%) followed.

Hotpoint appliances caused the most fault-led fires in 2019/20

The data revealed that Hotpoint appliances caused the most faulty appliance fires last year, with 311 recorded in 2019/20. The majority of which were washing machines (112) and tumble dryers (105).

The second brand at fault for these dodgy appliances is Indesit, 183 reported fires. The biggest offenders were tumble dryers (69) and washing machines (67).

Beko came third, whose goods caused 150 fires in 2019/20. Of these, the majority were washing machines (52) and tumble dryers (29), although dishwashers (27) and fridge/ freezers (26) weren’t far behind.

ElectricalDirect is urging those that purchase new appliances to ensure they are registering them and to keep an eye on the UK Government’s Product Recall page.

Dominick Sandford, director at ElectricalDirect, said: “Make sure new appliances are registered so that manufacturers can contact you in the event of any problems. It is easy to do and takes minutes, just visit Register My Appliance.”

“If you notice an appliance isn’t Elecworking properly make sure you seek professional help when looking to get it repaired. Attempting to repair an appliance yourself may result in further damage, increasing the risk of fire and even electrocution.”