Did this house fire REALLY start because of a turned off Air fryer OR faulty wiring?

[reoreborn85]

I hope it's okay to put this question here as it IS about electrical items AND plugs etc.

I am having a debate with a friend. This family came home to find their house was on fire. The firemen said it started because of the Airfryer. They're adamant that it was switched off at the wall BUT still plugged in. Their whole videos are them basically saying "You need to unplug these because they're dangerous".

Here is the video if needed

https://www.tiktok.com/video/7593355981283724566

My friends point of view:
They agree with them saying "Air fryer are dangerous and need to be unplugged. While they can't explain it they think that it's still dangerous to leave airfryers plugged in even if switched off.

I am saying if it WAS switched off (I have my suspicions it wasn't) and it was the Airfryer that started the fire then there is something wrong with the plug socket/wiring. Not so much the airfryer/leaving it plugged in while switched off. I remember when I was a teenager my grandfather hired somebody to fit a plug into the kitchen. It turned out this plug had been wired incorrectly and even with the switch turned to off it was still supplying electrics to the appliance.


Neither of us have any experience with wiring/electrics etc.

 

[Wayners]

I think greese and moisture can build up inside the electrical bits so even with good cleaning practice it could go up in flames.
All this moisture and crud could spark inside and cause a fire if the device is plugged in although not in use.
I've known washing machines and dishwashers, fridges especially cause fires so an air fryer is just another device that can catch fire.
I've delt with a microwave and a dishwasher that caught fire. The microwave frightened me!

To answer.. you can buy double pole switches which cuts the live and neutral. Many switches are single pole so the neutral is still connected.
I'm not an electrician and only have basic knowledge but we now pull plug on air fryer.

 

[ericmark]

This is related I think to tumble drier fires, and how grease can react when heated just a small amount, it is more akin to a chemical fire than to an electrical fire, and as said down to cleaning. There are videos about the danger of tumble drying unwashed clothes, one should only tumble dry clothes which have been first washed to remove grease.

Some switched sockets are double pole switched, but even single pole switched with a TN-C-S supply there is no or very little voltage neutral to earth, so unless there is a loss of the PEN, very unlikely leaving it plugged in will cause a fire, there is no voltage to cause any current to flow.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I am having a debate with a friend. This family came home to find their house was on fire. The firemen said it started because of the Airfryer. They're adamant that it was switched off at the wall BUT still plugged in. Their whole videos are them basically saying "You need to unplug these because they're dangerous".

That suggests there were two failures....

The switch at the socket, must have failed to switch off properly, and the switch/timer on the air fryer must have failed to switch off properly. The owner likely was aware of at least one of the failures, and chosen to ignore it, probably a fault on the fryer - instead deciding it was OK to just switch off at the wall socket, then the wall socket failed....

Unplugging, from the socket, provides the ultimate solution, no chance of it remaining on, once unplugged.

 

[SUNRAY]

How many times have we ignored the MIs to switch of at the wall or remove the plug?

All of the air fryers instructions I've encountered (just 3) have included that instruction and all 3 of them are left powered... there's no helping some people.

 

[Alec_t]

The 'off' switch on some modern appliances doesn't really turn the appliance off: it merely puts it into a standby (sleep) state. Is this true of any air fryers?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

The 'off' switch on some modern appliances doesn't really turn the appliance off: it merely puts it into a standby (sleep) state. Is this true of any air fryers?

Yes, the ones with a mechanical timer, switch completely off, when the timer runs out.

 

[reoreborn85]

How many times have we ignored the MIs to switch of at the wall or remove the plug?

All of the air fryers instructions I've encountered (just 3) have included that instruction and all 3 of them are left powered... there's no helping some people.

While i agree this isn't always possible. My old flat had switches, in the kitchen, which were not easy to get to unless you were double jointed lol. It doesn't help that alot of appliances have extremely short cables so they end up sitting infront of some switches which also make it somewhat difficult to unplug.

 

[SUNRAY]

The 'off' switch on some modern appliances doesn't really turn the appliance off: it merely puts it into a standby (sleep) state. Is this true of any air fryers?

I see some displaying time etc when not in use so it's true of those.

 

[SUNRAY]

While i agree this isn't always possible. My old flat had switches, in the kitchen, which were not easy to get to unless you were double jointed lol. It doesn't help that alot of appliances have extremely short cables so they end up sitting infront of some switches which also make it somewhat difficult to unplug.

Is that a good enough excuse?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

While i agree this isn't always possible. My old flat had switches, in the kitchen, which were not easy to get to unless you were double jointed lol. It doesn't help that alot of appliances have extremely short cables so they end up sitting infront of some switches which also make it somewhat difficult to unplug.

The short cable/flex rules were made, to prevent hot appliances being dragged off worktops. They are generally long enough to be plugged in and clear of the socket switch.