Tumble dryer warning as fire sees three taken to hospital
Three people were taken to hospital after a house fire in Lichfield.
The occupants of the home in Burton Old Road were taken to hospital as a precaution after the blaze on Monday at about 12.25pm.
Firefighters from Lichfield and Burton were called after the tumble dryer caught fire in the ground floor of the two-storey house.
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service is now urging owners of tumble dryers to make sure they take precautions to prevent them from catching fire.
Station manager, John Kitchener, said: "Tumble dryers, when used safely, can be an asset to a household.
"However, like most electrical appliances, they can become a fire hazard if the simple maintenance jobs, such as clearing fluff after use, are not carried out.
"If fluff is allowed to build up, the heat from the dryer can cause it to catch fire.
"Although we haven't established the exact reason why this particular tumble dryer caught fire, we do offer the following advice to people using them, including remove lint from your machine after every use, don't cover any vents on the dryer, sweep or vacuum the area around the machine to prevent build-up of fluff, register your machine so you can be made aware of any product recalls which may relate to it and don't set your dryer running and then go out or up to bed; make sure you're able to keep an eye on it."
