Here's a slightly dated but popular US magazine article with a table near the end that supports John's closing thought about rarity of fridge fires compared to tumble-dryer fires (1:9 ratio).
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2012/03/appliance-fires-is-your-home-safe/index.htm Cheers, Adam [email protected] On Sun, Jun 25, 2017 at 6:52 AM, Scott Xe <[email protected]> wrote: > John, thanks for background info! > > LFB said one fire every day in London is caused by white goods. It is a > horrible figure! > > Grenfell Tower Fire is a bit different from previous ones and had another > risk of non-approved insulation and cladding tiles on the outer wall of > building. It is still unclear how the fire spreads from the fridge to the > cladding titles. Was the fridge close to the windows? > > From the video, the metal back seems to work delaying the fire spread. It > may trigger the standard body to think it again. The capacitor incident > prevention has been incorporated into the safety standard, why not this > one? LFB may take this case to reinforce their warning alert in 2015. > > Scott > > On 25/6/2017, 5:25 PM, "John Woodgate" <[email protected]> wrote: > > It's not quite 'resistance', it's more a matter of different > priorities. US safety standards major on protection against fire because > they were originated by the insurance industry (Underwriters Laboratory) > for obvious financial reasons, while European safety standards major on > prevention of electric shock, because 230 V is more dangerous than 120 V > (but of course not more dangerous than 240 V!), and timber-framed buildings > are relatively rare in Europe. > > I guess that the applicable safety standard (IEC/EN 60335-2-xxx) > isn't strongly influenced by US experts (US may even have voted for it) and > thus doesn’t require a metal back panel, whereas the UL standard (which may > be the IEC standard with a modification or several) does require one. > > All the Sections of IEC 60335-2 are under continuous review as > technologies change, and the recent incidence of fires may well result in > significant changes. > > However, unlike the tumble dryer case, where numerous fires were > reported, this fridge-freezer fire is just one incident, and may be due to > a 'one-off' fault' or obstruction of the ventilation. Even the enquiry that > is being held may not be able to assign a definite cause. I suspect that > fridge fires are very much rarer than tumble-dryer fires, even if, to be > fair, the epidemic dryer fires are excluded. > > With best wishes DESIGN IT IN! OOO – Own Opinions Only > www.jmwa.demon.co.uk J M Woodgate and Associates Rayleigh England > > Sylvae in aeternum manent. > > -----Original Message----- > From: Scott Xe [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: 25 June 2017 09:35 > To: [email protected] > Subject: [PSES] Metal back of US fridge - Grenfell Tower Fire > > According to London Fire Brigade, they are calling for manufacturers > to use metal rather than cheaper plastic to make the backs of fridges in > order to protect flammable polyurethane insulation from components that > could cause a blaze. They added US fridges have metal back while the EU > has not regulated this requirement. What is the resistance for EU to adopt > this requirement? > > Thanks and regards, > > Scott > > - > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society > emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail > to <[email protected]> > > All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: > http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html > > Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities > site at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics > (in well-used formats), large files, etc. > > Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ > Instructions: http://www.ieee-pses.org/list.html (including how to > unsubscribe) List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html > > For help, send mail to the list administrators: > Scott Douglas <[email protected]> > Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> > > For policy questions, send mail to: > Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> > David Heald: <[email protected]> > > > > - > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc > discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to < > [email protected]> > > All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: > http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html > > Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at > http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in > well-used formats), large files, etc. > > Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ > Instructions: http://www.ieee-pses.org/list.html (including how to > unsubscribe) > List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html > > For help, send mail to the list administrators: > Scott Douglas <[email protected]> > Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> > > For policy questions, send mail to: > Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> > David Heald: <[email protected]> > - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <[email protected]> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://www.ieee-pses.org/list.html (including how to unsubscribe) List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <[email protected]> Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> David Heald: <[email protected]>
