By Tony Noble • Published: 24 Dec 2019 • 15:44
A YOUNG family has lost everything just days before Christmas after a devastating fire in their home believed to have been caused by their Hotpoint washing machine.
Jay Dickin, 27, wife Linda, 28, and their one-year-old son Ezra, have been forced to move into Linda’s parents’ home over the festive period following the blaze. Just last week, a young mum rescued her toddler from their smoke-filled home after their Whirlpool tumble dryer caught fire.
Luckily, the fire at the Dickin’s was contained to the kitchen and there is no structural damage to their house. The couple also have home insurance. But teacher Jay says toxic smoke from melting plastic destroyed everything they owned. And Linda – a hospice fundraiser – says precious family belongings have been ruined. She is now warning people to check if their washing machine is on Whirlpool’s recall list.
“We didn’t even know this was in the media,” Linda said.
“The thing I want to do is spread the word for people to check their washing machines to make sure it is not one of the ones Whirlpool is recalling.
“Our fire alarms did work, which is positive, but also we want people to check whether their fire alarms are working.”
Unbeknown to the couple, a fundraising page has been set up for the family and Linda and Jay say they are overwhelmed by the response. On a Facebook post Linda wrote: “Thank you all so much for the kind messages today regarding the fire at our house.
“Thank you, especially to our neighbours who were so kind and have given us some baby clothes to tide us over.”
A Whirlpool spokesperson said: “We express our deepest sympathies to the Dicken family for the distress and inconvenience caused by this incident, particularly at this time of the year.
“We take safety extremely seriously and always seek to thoroughly investigate reports of this nature. While investigations are ongoing, we are unable to comment further at this stage.”
See Whirlpool’s recall list for all of the washing machines affected at https://washingmachinerecall.whirlpool.co.uk/ – but bear in mind the machine that exploded wasn’t on the recall list!
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Tony Noble is a licensed Lay Minister in the Anglican chaplaincy of Costa Almeria and Costa Calida. Telephone - 711 043 859 - nobletony92@gmail.com
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