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Ministers 'must act on faulty white goods fire risk' Ministers 'must act on faulty white goods fire risk'
(about 9 hours later)
More people will die from fires started by faulty white goods if ministers do not act to implement safety guidelines, the London Fire Brigade, the city's mayor, and safety groups have warned.More people will die from fires started by faulty white goods if ministers do not act to implement safety guidelines, the London Fire Brigade, the city's mayor, and safety groups have warned.
In a letter to Theresa May, they say some fridges and freezers are being sold with a flammable plastic backing.In a letter to Theresa May, they say some fridges and freezers are being sold with a flammable plastic backing.
And the letter says people continue to use white goods that are subject to product recalls to fix lethal faults. People continue to use products that are subject to recalls, it adds.
The Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 80 people, started in a fridge-freezer. The warning comes a year after a tower block fire in west London, started by a faulty tumble dryer.
The letter refers to a fire in August 2016 in Shepherds Court, a tower block in west London, which began in a faulty tumble dryer. The letter refers to the fire from August 2016 in Shepherds Court, which began in a Indesit dryer.
That blaze prompted a whole series of safety recommendations but a year on, the letter points out, no substantial changes have yet been made. Despite taking 120 firefighters to bring the blaze under control, no one was injured in the fire.
It says: "A year on people across the UK are still using white goods that pose a serious fire risk and are subject to recall or corrective action. But the incident prompted a series of safety recommendations, which, the letter says one year on, have not been acted on.
"Worse still, some fridges and freezers are still being produced with a flammable plastic backing, which offers very little protection against the insulation foam inside catching alight if a fire starts. The government is due to respond later this year.
"We are deeply concerned that, a year after Shepherds Court, decisive action is still needed to improve product recalls and manufacturing standards for white goods in the UK." The letter says: "A year on, people across the UK are still using white goods that pose a serious fire risk and are subject to recall or corrective action.
The fire brigade wants the government to put a single register of product recalls, including all international recalls, on the gov.uk website, which carries other key public information. "Worse still, some fridges and freezers are still being produced with a flammable plastic backing, which offers very little protection against the insulation foam inside catching alight if a fire starts."
The LFB also wants risk assessments to be published when a fault is identified and for the "sleeping risk" to be included in these assessments. There have been 2,170 fires in London involving white goods since 2010, the LFB said.
The letter was signed by the London Fire Brigade (LFB) Commissioner Dany Cotton, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the Fire Brigades Union, National Fire Chiefs Council and charity Electrical Safety First. The fire brigade wants the government to put a single register of product recalls, including all international recalls, on its website.
It points out that it is not only the guidelines made last year that have to be implemented. It also wants risk assessments to be published when a fault is identified and for the "sleeping risk" to be included in these assessments.
In 2014, a coroner suggested a series of safety recommendations to improve product recalls, following the inquest into the death of Santosh Benjamin-Muthiah, a father who died saving his wife and children from a fire caused by a fridge freezer. The letter was signed by the London Fire Brigade (LFB) Commissioner Dany Cotton, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the Fire Brigades Union, National Fire Chiefs Council and the charity Electrical Safety First.
The letter says other fire guidelines have not yet been implemented.
In 2014, a coroner suggested a series of safety recommendations to improve product recalls, following the inquest of Santosh Benjamin-Muthiah, a father who died saving his wife and children from a fire caused by a fridge-freezer.
The fire service said it was "extremely concerned" that "no substantial changes" have been made in the product recall system since then.The fire service said it was "extremely concerned" that "no substantial changes" have been made in the product recall system since then.
Mr Khan said the government's delay in implementing the LFB's recommendations was "inexcusable".
"The terrible tragedy at Grenfell Tower in June is a stark reminder of just how devastating a fire caused by faulty white goods can be," he said.
The Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 80 people, started in a Hotpoint fridge-freezer. The product has not been recalled.
Consumer Minister Margot James said the government already has a "robust system" to inform people of faulty goods.
She said: "Our one stop shop Product Recall website makes it clear to the public which white goods are safe to use at home and we are considering the framework for a national body to support consumers on product safety."