SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20221103-C781B-2147352981. Severity: Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received. Product: Whirlpool Cabrio WED7300DW1 (Whirlpool - Cabrio 7.0 Cu. Ft. 23-Cycle Electric Dryer, White). Incident: I heard a popping sound come from the dryer and smoke started coming out of the top rear instrument panel. The dryer was still running and it did not trip the breaker. I unplugged it, the smoke increased and I could smell an electrical fire. The panel then started melting. The Fire department came and removed the dryer from my home. The fire was contained to the dryer control instrument panel. Took off the rear panel and there was a paper Service Manual (by the manufacturer, this dryer has never been opened to be serviced) that was sitting directly on top of the circuit board. The manual had caught fire and the electronics around it were burned. Why would a paper manual be installed inside of a dryer where electronics get hot? Incoming electrical wires coming into the back of the unit was completely fine. There was no lint buildup so was not caused by lint. I couldn't stay in the house because of the smoke and I had already suffered with smoke inhalation while I was waiting for the fire department. I was very lucky that I was standing right there when it happened to be able to unplug it.