London Fire Brigade (LFB) is calling for fridge freezer manufacturers to make their products safer.

Despite seven deaths and 71 serious injuries in London since 2010, LFB believes that most manufacturers are still “dragging their heels” on making fire safety improvements. 

On average there is one fridge freezer fire a week in the capital and the LFB has been lobbying the industry to make their fridges and freezers more fire resistant for the last three and a half years.  

London Fire Brigade says that fridges and freezers are of particular concern because they contain large amounts of plastic and highly flammable insulation, which, if ignited, can cause large, rapidly developing fires that spread quickly, giving off highly toxic gases. The doors and side panels of most fridges and freezers are usually covered in metal but LFB is concerned that many still use a flammable plastic backing which offers very little protection against the highly flammable insulation catching alight if a fire starts.

It is now calling on the industry to ensure that the backs of fridge freezers are made of non-combustible or fire retardant materials as standard.

Deputy commissioner of London Fire Brigade, Rita Dexter, said: “Every home has a fridge or freezer and the chances are it will be plugged in and working safely for years but it is no exaggeration to say that they are potentially the most dangerous household appliances if they are involved in a fire.

“They contain large amounts of highly flammable foam insulation, often only protected by a thin plastic covering. This can be a recipe for disaster if a fault occurs or if a fire spreads from somewhere else to the fridge or freezer. They are also one of the few electrical items in your home to be always left on and these fires pose an even greater risk if they start when people are sleeping.'

She continued: “Putting a simple non-combustible or fire retardant covering at the back of appliances is a relatively simple change that manufacturers can make and one that we believe would reduce the number of injuries, and potentially deaths, caused by fires involving fridges and freezers.”