Beko fire risk warning for thousands of tumble dryers

Thousands of Beko tumble dryers could be at risk of fire because of an overheating fault, the manufacturer has warned.

Beko issued a safety alert for some 3,450 of its machines, affecting five models, following a blaze which killed a mother of two.

Mishell Moloney, 49, died in her Birmingham home last year after being overcome by smoke and fumes from a fire which broke out when her tumble dryer overheated.

In a statement, Beko said: "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.”

Models affected:

  • Beko and Blomberg 8kg and 9kg capacity dryers

  • Manufactured between May and November 2012

  • Model numbers: DCU9330W, DCU9330R, DCU8230, DSC85W and TKF8439A

Beko have issued the safety notice about five dryer models. Credit: Beko

Since issuing the safety notice, Beko has urged anyone who owns one of the machines to stop using it immediately and disconnect it from the wall as a precaution.

It is also offering free-of-charge home visits to modify affected models.

The manufacturer 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."

Mishell Moloney was overcome with fire. Credit: PA

Beko has asked consumers to check the model and serial number of their dryer on its website and, if affected, to register for an engineer to check and if necessary repair the machine.

It added: "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."

Last year, a coroner in Birmingham found that a Beko DSC85W model caused the blaze which killed Ms Moloney.

The inquest was also told the model had been involved in 20 other outbreaks of fire.

But on Tuesday, the manufacturer stressed the fault related to the fatal fire was separate from the problem identified in the safety alert.

Earlier this year, rival manufacturer Whirlpool upgraded a warning to customers with faulty Hotpoint, Indesit and Creda dryers.

Customers can call free phone number 0800 917 2018 or 1800 25 29 25 in Ireland between 8.00am and 8.00pm Monday to Friday or 10.00am and 4.00pm Saturday and Sunday.