Fire crews recently responded to a kitchen fire at a Southwest London condominium. The
occupants were safely outside when firefighters entered the dwelling and saw smoke
coming from around a dishwasher that had been in use. One of the occupants had the
presence of mind to shut off power to the house as they were evacuating.
The fire was extinguished and damage was limited to the cabinet surrounding the
dishwasher and the appliance itself. Firefighters then ventilated smoke from the home
and checked adjacent condo units. Fire officials then checked and found that the
appliance, sold under the brand name “Viking” was possibly subject to a product recall.
There have been 157 reports of incidents involving the subject appliances, with fires
resulting in property damage reported in 26 of them. No injuries have been reported.
“This fire could have been far worse if the occupants had been sleeping or left the house
with the dishwasher running”, says Deputy Fire Chief Jack Burt. “When using major
appliances such as dishwashers, clothes washers and dryers, people should be conscious
of the possibility of fire and monitor them while in use. We also want to remind people to
ensure they have working smoke alarms on every level of their home to give them early
warning of in the event of a fire.”
Details of the product recall can be found here:
http://www.vikingrange.com/consumer/category/other/safety-recallinformation/expanded-dishwasher-recall/learn-more?
For further information:
Deputy Fire Chief Jack Burt
Office: 519 661-2489 (CITY) ext. 5614
[email protected]
