I've just got back indoors and finished cleaning after we had a fire tonight!! :ohmy:

We put the washing on and all of a sudden there was a bang....when Simon went out in to the outhouse the washing machine was completely ablaze!! Within minutes it was up in flames and the whole house was filled with choking smoke. We managed to chase the cat out and get out ourselves, and thankfully the Fire Brigade arrived within 10 minutes and put the fire out. It took them a good half an hour though...quite frightening considering it was just one electrical appliance.

We are both relieved that we're OK....this afternoon I had the ruddy thing on timer doing the towels while I was at work, and I dread to think what would have happened if it had caught fire while we were out. So all is well that ends well...although I might ming a bit for the next few days!! :D

Bloody hell Ceri - how frightening.....


I'm glad to hear you and Simon are ok!!! :hug:

Glad you're okay. :hug:

Hope yous are ok and not too much damage done and thank your lucky stars it was not worse :fireman: to the rescue,

Thanks folks! The worst thing was our smoke alarms DIDN'T go off......blimey that was an exciting night, I'm off to bed now and we'll be sorting those smoke alarms out first thing tomorrow!!! :)

Glad you're all OK!

BTW - Were the firemen fit??

:bag:

What is the thing with "girls" and firemen? :unsure:
Oh, and Ceri - glad you're all ok :hug: Good job you caught it in time - and didn't leave the house with the thing turned on.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v286/Caty65/FIREMANl.jpg

Any like this???

Seriously, glad you are OK, must have been quite scary.

Sam set fire once to a pile of washing on the stairs at our old house...I was upstairs and had to do an leap worthy of Olga Korbet over the flames. Very shocking how quick the flames get grip.

Rejoice the boys in the red van.

As you are now minging, I can take temporary custody of your friends, just to help out!

Fire's can be quite scary, glad you both and the kitkat were unharmed. Do you have lots of clearing to do now?

How scary for you, Ceri but glad you, Simon and the cat escaped unharmed. I don't envy you with all the clearing up though, hope it isn't too much of a mess. :hug:

I am glad you’re both Ok it must have been a bit of a shock

Good luck with the insurance people today

OMG Ceri - what a scary thing to happen - they are awful aren't they fires?? They just go out of control - so very glad you all [inc. cat] got out unharmed.

What sort of damage is there?? Obviously you will need a new washing machine - but has the smoke caused lots of damage around the rest of the house?

:hug:

Thank you all....we have been up since God knows when this morning trying to sort everything out! We have an AEG rep here at the moment trying to work out what happened and I am waiting for the insurance company to get back to me. Thankfully the only damage is a large burnt hole in the floor covering and some smoke staining around the room which I have been clearing off....obviously it was a right mess in here after the Fire Brigade had been in but I have cleared that up now.

And yes the firemen WERE pretty fit Fee! :wink2:

And yes the firemen WERE pretty fit Fee! :wink2:

At least that is some consolation, Ceri!! :fireman: Good luck with the insurance!

I'm glad there isn't too much damage Ceri.... :D


As the for the fireman, at least you got to see them, when I had 6 gorgeous fireman trapezing through my house I missed them as I was at work :cry:

Ceridwen, I thought this was an April Fool at first (but saw that you actually started it yesterday) Sorry to hear that! Glad yous are ok!

Ceridwen, was sorry to read this this morning glad that you all ok and hope it doesn't take to long for you to have things cleared and sorted out.

:o) Keep Smiling

Oh Ceri, how blummin awful for you and yours. Im really pleased that not much damage was caused.

Give yourselves a hearty pat on the back for clearing up all the mess, and have a very large drinkie tonight :cool:

I know this may sound daft but all I was really worried about was my cat!! We chased him out but I was scared he would go back in when the fire crew went in and get hurt...it's interesting to know that I wasn't worried about my possessions at all.

Perhaps I'm not as mercenary as I thought!! :laugh:

I know this may sound daft but all I was really worried about was my cat!! We chased him out but I was scared he would go back in when the fire crew went in and get hurt...it's interesting to know that I wasn't worried about my possessions at all.

Perhaps I'm not as mercenary as I thought!! :laugh:

I would be exactly the same Ceri. I have always said that if i got burgled (god forbid), please could they shut the doors / windows after themselves so my cats couldnt get out. Sod the TV, just let the cats be safe :laugh:

How awful Ceri, I'm glad that everyone is ok, (including one cat).

My MIL told me a long time ago that she never leaves the washing machine or dryer on when she goes out, as something similar happened to her. Another one of my friend's washing machines overheated as well, luckily she was home. In fact, just two weeks ago, Mr tiggs and myself were in the living room and the dryer was going and we heard a boom and ran out to the kitchen and there was smoke coming out of the dryer. I turned round to him, and said how lucky we were that we were at home when it happened so we could unplug.

Good luck on getting it all cleaned up. :)

Bluddy Hell Ceri - what a night you had hun! Glad that you, Simon and the cat are all ok :hug:

my mates hubby is a fireman, and about 6 years ago he told me NEVER to put my washing machine on and leave the house.......not that I took much notice of him :blush:

Fortunately we WERE at home when it happened....it took very, very quickly and the flames were up to the ceiling within a few minutes. If I had left it on while I was work I think the whole house would have been destroyed. :sad:

The manufacturer said they had never seen anything like it, the whole of the drum had completely melted!! AND it's only two years old, and not a cheap machine at all.

Hopefully they are going to compensate us for one washer/dryer and one vinyl floor covering. :)

Fortunately we WERE at home when it happened....it took very, very quickly and the flames were up to the ceiling within a few minutes. If I had left it on while I was work I think the whole house would have been destroyed. :sad:

The manufacturer said they had never seen anything like it, the whole of the drum had completely melted!! AND it's only two years old, and not a cheap machine at all.

Hopefully they are going to compensate us for one washer/dryer and one vinyl floor covering. :)

It doesnt bear thinking about if you hadnt been at home does it - makes your blood run cold.......

Jeeeze, I hope you DO get compensation for it all Ceri!

That's a nasty experience Ceri. Glad everyone was ok and that the worst that's going to happen is the place will smell of smoke for weeks!

Good luck with the insurance.

Whoa! Ceri! you must have been well shaken up! What a worry. There but for the grace of god go we all cos I'm sure we've all left washing machines on and gone out (I know you hadn't gone out, but you may very well have).

I hope you poured yourself a stiff drink and took the day off work to steady the nerves.

It sounds awful, glad you all got out okay.

One of my friend had a fire at their house about last July and I don't think they're back in it yet, they had to live in a hotel for months until they gave them a house. Terrible things are fires.

I'll know now to be wary of washing machines.

Ceri, glad to hear you are all okay.....I often go out and leave washing machine, dishwasher and tumble dryer on......not any more though

Ceri, glad to hear you are all okay.....I often go out and leave washing machine, dishwasher and tumble dryer on......not any more though

I do too, and I often put them on just before I go to bed :shock:

I do too, and I often put them on just before I go to bed :shock:

Yep.....guilty of that aswell....in fact I put the dishwasher on the timer to ocme on at 2 in the morning......

Ceri, glad to hear you are all okay.....I often go out and leave washing machine, dishwasher and tumble dryer on......not any more though

Mr P does this too, so I've just passed on this thread to him.

So Ceri, you in a launderette..............

I've always left appliances running while we're asleep....if it had happened when we were upstairs in bed we would have not have known as the walls are very thick and the smoke wouldn't have hit us until the house was very much ablaze.

I feel so luck that it happened the way it did....so I would recommend that you are careful about leaving stuff running at night or when the house is empty...God I sound like a Government fire safety advert! :laugh:

Ceri I meant to ask - you mentioned earlier that your Fire Alarm did not go off! Was that because the fire was too quick or did it not have batteries in it - did the Fire Brigade check it over??

I only ask cos like most others here I leave my stuff on over night, and when I go out and the tumble dryer is on constantly - I am wondering because the fire was sooooo quick whether the smoke had a chance to reach the alarm??

so glad everyone & kitty was ok - very scary.

I always put my machine on before I leave for work & think nothing of putting that &/or dryer on overnight - I won't be doing that in future.

Hope the claim is painless

Ceri thats awful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so pleased you're ok!!! and that the :fireman: came in time. Seriously that is a shock and I'm glad you are ok.

Take care of yourself Ceri! We need you!

Wow, Ceri, sounds like you've had a bit of a stressful 24hrs.
Glad to hear you are all ok.
But who'd have believed it a washing machine causing a fire. I put mine on all the time and go out. Never even crossed my mind about it catching fire.

Big hugs to you, Simon and your little puddy cat :hug:

:ohmy: You don't think...No, it couldn't be.....Could it???


(from Yahoo News -

Osbournes' home ravaged by fire

Rock couple Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne were forced to run for their lives when a fire ripped through their mansion in England.

We'll find out in June! :laugh:

Wow, Ceri, sounds like you've had a bit of a stressful 24hrs.
Glad to hear you are all ok.
But who'd have believed it a washing machine causing a fire. I put mine on all the time and go out. Never even crossed my mind about it catching fire.

Big hugs to you, Simon and your little puddy cat :hug: Actually my mum's washing machine caught fire a few years ago - there was a right kerfuffle...
Glad you are all ok, Ceri.

Ceri I meant to ask - you mentioned earlier that your Fire Alarm did not go off! Was that because the fire was too quick or did it not have batteries in it - did the Fire Brigade check it over??

They work fine, but the outhouse is right at the back of our house behind the kitchen. In front of the kitchen is the living room, then the dining room and hall. The downstairs smoke alarm is in the hall, so the smoke won't actually reach it until it's too late. (Also the smoke would go "past" it and settle on the upstairs landing ceiling I suspect). Trouble is you can't put one near the kitchen as it will keep going off all the time. The Kent Fire people said only fitting heat detectors in the kitchen would be likely to solve the problem.

Simon is going to look at the detectors we've got and see if re-siting will help as well.