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Protect Your Family from a Dryer Fire

By October 16, 2014May 21st, 2020Insurance

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According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 15,000 fires are sparked every year by clothes dryers.  Lint and other debris can build up in your dryer vent, reducing air flow to the dryer, backing up dryer exhaust gases, creating a fire hazard. 

“Clothes dryers are an appliance that make our lives easier but we often take them for granted. We shouldn’t,” said Angie’s List founder, Angie Hicks. “We need to maintain them and most importantly have their vents cleaned.” 

Facts and figures

  • In 2010, an estimated 16,800 reported U.S. non-confined or confined home structure fires involving clothes dryers or washing machines resulted in 51 civilian deaths, 380 civilian injuries and $236 million in direct property damage.
  • Clothes dryers accounted for 92% of the fires; washing machines 4%, and washer and dryer combinations accounted for 4%.
  • The leading cause of home clothes dryer and washer fires was failure to clean (32%), followed by unclassified mechanical failure or malfunction (22%). Eight percent were caused by some type of electrical failure or malfunction.


For additional tips on how to keep your dryer in proper working order to prevent fires, watch the video titled, 
“NFPA Safety Tips – Clothes Dryer Safety” or download their safety tips flier.

We encourage you to share this information with your family and friends. In our opinion, everybody is so busy, the focus is on taking care of the pile of clothes in the laundry room and we don’t take time to think about the importance of proper maintenance. Or we see or hear a story like about a dryer fire and think it will never happen to us.

Source:
http://www.nfpa.org/safety-information/for-consumers/causes/dryers-and-washing-machines

EMERGE INSURANCE AGENCY
904-677-5884