Residents in Northamptonshire are being urged to pay close attention to their ‘white goods’ home appliances

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At 10.56pm on Saturday (July 3) fire crews from The Mounts and Moulton were called to an address in Brixworth after a tumble dryer caught fire. Although the fire was out on arrival, a 78-year-old man was assessed by EMAS after suffering from smoke inhalation. While at the premises, crews fitted two smoke detectors as the ones that were fitted in the home did not activate.

Then on Sunday (July 4) crews from The Mounts and Mereway were called at 3.55pm to a washing machine fire in Northampton due to an electrical fault, with crews carrying out a Home Fire Safety Visit during the incident.

To avoid similar incidents potentially affecting their households, residents are being urged to follow this safety advice:

• Always keep your white goods appliances – such as washing machines, tumble dryers, dishwashers, fridges and freezers – in a safe place out of the way. Don’t be tempted to put a freezer in the hallway. If a fire does break out in your home, you need your escape route to be clear
• Don’t overload sockets with appliances. Follow the one plug per socket rule for all white goods
• If your white goods start making a strange noise, don’t ignore it. If you suspect there might be a problem, always unplug it and contact the manufacturer or a qualified repair technician
• If you are concerned about the safety of a product, stop using it and make your concern known to the retailer, manufacturer or your local Trading Standards office
• Always make sure new appliances are registered so that manufacturers can contact you in the event of any problems – it only takes a few minutes to register them at www.registermyappliance.org.uk

Tina Collett, Prevention Team Leader at Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service, said: “The events this weekend offer a timely reminder to residents to make sure they are keeping an eye on white goods appliances.

“We would advise residents never to put white goods on when they are asleep or they are leaving the house, and it would be best to clean your tumble dryer filter after every time to use it.

“We would recommend fitting smoke or heat alarms in every room that has large white goods appliances and test them regularly to ensure they are working and can give you an early warning that a fire is breaking out.”