My tumble dryer burned down my kitchen I had to move out for 10 weeks, now I can’t get compensation as someone nicked it
A TUMBLE dryer destroyed a family's kitchen after it suddenly burst into flames, causing severe smoke damage throughout the house.
Pauline Segbefia, husband Derek and their four children had just finished their Sunday dinner on January 9 when out of nowhere there was a power cut inside their Luton home.
Her oldest son went to find out what was going on and when he pushed open the door to their kitchen, he found the dryer ablaze.
A fire extinguisher was nearby, but the family were unable to get it to work and realised they had to flee urgently.
Pauline called the fire brigade as Derek and their four children, two lads aged 25 and 16, and two girls aged 10 and nine, quickly fled the home as it quickly filled with smoke.
Firefighters arrived on the scene within 10 minutes, but Pauline says waiting for help to get there "felt like hours".
She told The Sun: "It felt like an eternity for the fire engine to come but they put it out straight away.
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"It was a bit of a daze. Thankfully the neighbours took the kids into her home while we got sorted.
"We have lost so much. The whole ordeal was extremely scary. I was beside myself.
"We couldn't throw water on it because it was an electrical fire."
The family were forced to stay with the oldest daughter, cramming the four family members into a two bedroom home.
They have now been moved into a temporary accommodation with three bedrooms between six people until they can move back in.
However repairs are expected to take up to 10 weeks, as there is too much damage and no electrics inside the home.
The fire services left the tumble dryer on the pavement, before the charred device was allegedly stolen from out the front.
Pauline says she has tried to claim compensation from Whirlpool but they now won't accept liability because she doesn't have the unit.
But the mum-of-five has since been told that fires caused by the same particular model are a "familiar occurrence".
Pauline also claims the model was on recall due to high risk of catching fire.
She said: "I wasn’t informed. I don’t believe I’m the first person this has happened to and I would like other people to be aware."
The tumble dryer has since been replaced, but the family has lost furniture, all of their kitchen appliances, items and utensils, and other personal belongings in the blaze.
Due to smoke damage, varying pieces of property have been ruined.
Pauline's husband has also been in hospital for the last three weeks due to stress and their son, who lives with learning disabilities, is struggling to share a room with his sibling.
Whirlpool found a number of tumble dryers under the Indesit, Hotpoint, Creda, Swan and Proline brands had potential safety issues around a build-up of lint.
An evaluation under the EU's risk assessment system scored the tumble dryers in its lowest category, however the company decided to issue a recall anyway.
In a statement a Whirlpool spokesman said: “Residential fires are very upsetting, and we’re sorry to hear that a customer of ours faced this distressing experience.
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"Our customers’ safety is extremely important to us, and although the vast majority of tumble dryer owners will never experience a fire, we’d urge those that are concerned the Hot Point Service website for advice on how to look after their dryer."
Whirlpool appliance owners can check if their unit was affected here.
