Warning to others - FIRE RISK

Scarab

I'm putting this warning up in this section as I feel it will reach the most appropriate audience!
A few days ago my son woke up at his mums house in the early hours to a smoke filled room. His room was located above the shower room and bathroom both of which utilised EXTRACTOR FANS.
Some weeks earlier one of the fans starting making a screeching/scraping noise and he responded at the time by spraying WD40 into the mechanism, which was a mistake.
Although the noise quietened, the fan, through a combo of worn bearings, dodgy wiring and dust/dirt had turned into a serious fire risk which duly manifested itself into what turns out to be £100,000 plus insurance claim.
The fire service who turned up in force within 4 mins said that another 10 mins and things could have had grave consequences, the fire had apparently been ongoing in a recess for many hours!
They said it was the second call that day they'd had an EXTRACTOR FAN fire, the previous householder lost his entire roof.
EXTRACTOR FANS are one of the main causes of fire and any one of the three causes listed above can set one off.
Why in hell the health and safety people aren't putting regular warnings out about the dangers of EXTRACTOR FANS I have no idea, catching people out for rolling giant cheeses down a hillside is a big no no, fire risks not so much, so it's left to me to warn everyone that if your EXTRACTOR FAN(s) start making a noise, DO NOT try to lubricate the problem away, REPLACE the fan or at the very least get it checked out ....... you have been warned!!

harrys_nan

Thanks for that, not many people would think of the fan being a source of danger, good to highlight it

troubleinparadise

Thanks from me too.... Something to check out.

Tumble driers are another hidden nasty - I hadn't realised just how much fluff collects inside the housing of the machine itself until ours started squealing and then smelling of burning.

We had bought the replacement parts, looked at a "how to do it" film on YouTube and set about fixing it. On opening up the back I was horrified at the amount of lint there was in the back of and all around the hidden working parts of the tumble drier.

Not wanting to scaremonger, but after learning of the issues around washing and dishwasher machines and fire which I hadn't appreciated, it's as well to be aware. :eek:

peachyprice

Thanks for the warning, but wouldn't most people disconnect a screeching fan immediately and arrange for it to be replaced/repaired, rather than spray WD40 on it?

DKLS

peachyprice wrote: »

Thanks for the warning, but wouldn't most people disconnect a screeching fan immediately and arrange for it to be replaced/repaired, rather than spray WD40 on it?

I doubt it I once saw a neighbour spraying WD40 in his brake discs, I asked him !!!!!!, and he said the brakes were squeaking.

Scarab

Clearly not peachy otherwise they wouldn't be one of the main causes of household fires. In this instance the fan was connected via the light switch and there was no wiring visible for an easy disconnection.
I think many people would put up with a certain level of noise 'nuisance' under similar circumstances before resorting to more positive action such as calling an electrician!
Hopefully not so many now though after my post. :xmassign:

partialycloudy

Ours screeches sometimes, only once in a blue moon. Should we replace it?

Slinky

I wonder, do they make fire hoods for extractor fans in the same way they make fire hoods for your light fittings which are sitting there under all that loft insulation?

Scarab

partialycloudy wrote: »

Ours screeches sometimes, only once in a blue moon. Should we replace it?

It sounds like your bearings are going partialy, that means increased friction which in turn could cause sparks or overheating if left unchecked, after the above experience I can only re-emphasise that you cannot afford to take a chance with a noisy extractor fan.

sunshinetours

Worthwhile checking and highlighting and of course horrible for your friend to go through, but don't agree that extractor fans are the biggest cause of household fires so people get scared of them
.
By far the biggest cause of household fires is involving cooking equipment ie frying, grilling, ovens etc
Used to be chip fryers and smoking but these have come down significantly, but interesting that fires are more common per 000 populations in North and north west still

Fire statistics are published if interested like these

Scarab

sunshinetours wrote: »

Worthwhile checking and highlighting and of course horrible for your friend to go through, but don't agree that extractor fans are the biggest cause of household fires so people get scared of them
.
By far the biggest cause of household fires is involving cooking equipment ie frying, grilling, ovens etc
Used to be chip fryers and smoking but these have come down significantly, but interesting that fires are more common per 000 populations in North and north west still

Fire statistics are published if interested like these

Actually sunshine it wasn't a friend but my son as mentioned and I never said that extractor fans were the biggest cause, I said they were 'one of the main causes of fire'. This is what the fire service told my son at the time and is borne out by information you can find online regarding household fire hazards.