Manufacturer Beko has issued a safety alert for thousands of tumble dryers over concerns they could burst into flames, including one model found to have caused a blaze that killed a mother of two.
The company said it would be recalling five models, including the DCS85W – responsible for at least 20 blazes as well as the death in February 2016 of Mishell Moloney.
The move comes five years after Beko announced a recall on its smaller 6kg and 7kg capacity dryers thought to have caused a string of other fires. The alert also comes amid growing concern about the fire risks of tumble dryers and other domestic white goods.
Beko said 3,450 of its condenser tumble dryers could pose a fire risk owing to an overheating component. The manufacturer has begun a voluntary repair programme “as a precautionary measure”.
The safety notice involves five Beko and Blomberg 8kg and 9kg capacity dryers sold between May and November 2012 and carrying the model numbers DCU9330W, DCU9330R, DCU8230, DSC85W and TKF8439A. Beko has urged owners to stop using their machines immediately and disconnect them as a precaution.
In an statement on its website, Beko said: “As a responsible manufacturer, we have decided to proactively contact the owners of these condenser tumble dryers to offer a free of charge in-home check and to modify affected products to remove any potential risk. This is completely free of charge and will take no longer than 30 minutes.
“We would like to apologise for any inconvenience that this causes you and we want to reassure you that we are doing our very best to resolve this matter as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
Moloney, 49, was killed in a blaze at her home in Rubery, Birmingham, caused by a defective printed control board in a Beko DSC85W dryer. The inquest into her death, held at Birmingham coroner’s court in August, heard that the model was responsible for 20 other fires but the manufacturer had not yet launched a voluntary repair programme. The Turkish-owned company said at the time that the fire that killed Moloney was a tragic but isolated incident.
Beko said on Tuesday that the fault in her dryer was separate from the problem identified in the safety alert.
“Moloney’s death was a tragic and isolated incident. As stated by the coroner at the inquest, the source of the fire within the tumble dryer was most likely the printed control board. The component in this repair programme was excluded by forensics experts as the cause so is therefore unrelated.”
Andrew Mullen, the head of quality at Beko, added: “A small number of Beko and Blomberg 8kg and 9kg condenser tumble dryers have been affected by this faulty component, however we would urge any customer who thinks that they may be affected to check.
“Whilst there is a low level of risk, we are taking the proactive step of initiating a voluntary repair programme to ensure we can modify all affected products.”
The move by Beko comes amid growing concern about the fire risks of domestic appliances in millions of British homes and the apparent lack of a robust national product recall scheme overseen by the government.
In November 2015 the US manufacturer Whirlpool admitted that millions of dryers sold between 2004 and 2015 were a fire risk, but told customers they could continue to use them, provided they were supervised.
In February this year it changed its advice to the owners, telling them to unplug the appliances and stop using them until they were repaired.
Whirlpool – whose brands also include Creda, Swan and Proline – updated the advice on its website after receiving two enforcement notices from Peterborough trading standards and after pressure from consumer groups, including Which?
Alex Neill, the managing director of home products and services for Which?, said: “All owners of Beko or Blomberg 8kg and 9kg condenser tumble dryers should urgently visit the Beko website to check whether their model is at risk of catching fire. Consumers can also visit the Which? consumer rights pages online for important advice about faulty goods and your consumer rights.”
The London fire brigade estimates there is one fire caused by white goods every day in the capital. The Local Government Association, which represents all fire authorities, said there were three fires a day caused by tumble dryers in England and Wales.
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