Urgent warning to Brits using air fryers after number of blazes quadruple in a year – is yours at risk?
BRITS have been issued an urgent air fryer safety warning after the number of blazes caused by the trendy cookers almost quadrupled in a year.
The number of infernos where air fryers were listed as a possible reason soared from 23 in 2022 to 93 this year – an increase of 403 per cent.
And the latest figures are 15 times higher than blazes in 2018 – when just six fire service incident reports referenced the hot ticket speedy cooker.
The true number is likely to be higher as not all fire services responded to the survey, which charts how often the cookers are mentioned within an incident log.
While most of the mentions are likely to be related to the causes of fires some are incidental or unrelated to why the blaze began.
Our stats follow a string of fryer horror stories with the cheap and cheerful kitchen gadgets unexpectedly bursting into flames.
A mum in Manchester was left horrified after her air fryer burst into flames and nearly “burned down the kitchen”.
Rebecca Sim, 52, only turned the device on to cook some bacon, when the smell of burning plastic filled the room.
And earlier this year we told how a pensioner had a “lucky escape” when his air fryer burst into flames while cooking oven chips.
James Cooper, 76, claimed he was left “totally shocked” after his cooker caught fire whilst making dinner.
The pensioner added: “I was cooking oven chips, which is exactly what it was designed to do.
“My fryer was only used three or four times a week and had a very easy life, really.
“At first I thought I had spilt something onto the gas burner because I could smell intense burning.
“It was a complete surprise to see it was the fryer itself that was on fire.”
Blaze fears even forced makers of the SilverCrest brand to pull one of their models from shelves after the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission said its fuse was at risk of sparking fires.
Earlier this year electrical retailer Lakeland said demand for the tabletop cookers was up 1,175 per cent compared to 2022.
The compact devices are attractive to households as they use less energy than standard ovens.
The retailer said: “With the cost-of-living crisis continuing, air fryers have a renewed appeal as an efficient alternative to oven cooking.”
And one fryer is expected to be sold every second on Black Friday – with a series of retailers cutting prices on the gadget.
Giuseppe Capanna, Product Safety Engineer at Electrical Safety First, said: “Air fryers especially have seen a huge surge in popularity in the last year and so as more of these items are used in homes it is likely that accidents involving these appliances may occur, and like all accidents, they can be terrifying to experience.
“Always register the product to make sure you are contactable in the event a fault is detected by the manufacturer.
“Never overfill your air fryer, and to avoid potential overheating, never plug the appliance into an extension lead.
“Make sure you keep your power cords away from hot surfaces to avoid damaging cables, which could pose a serious fire risk and always refer to the manufacturer’s instructions when it comes to cleaning your device.”