SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20221229-BE78A-2147351782. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Product: Whirlpool Duet Steam WGD96HEAU0 (Whirlpool gas dryer. Stainless steel outer finish.). Incident: I was using our natural gas fired clothes dryer. The dryer cycle finished and dryer was "off" for about 20 minutes. However i found that the dryer's burner was still going. In our laundry room i could smell a burning smell. I could hear the gas burner was still going even though the dryer was otherwise "off". The drum was not spinning, all lights on the dryer were out, just like when it normally finishes a cycle. There was a burning smell. Also, the outside of the dryer on top of the dryer was extremely hot, i would estimate 80 Celcuis, too hot to touch for more than a second. I knew there was a problem but did not know what to do to fix it. I opened and closed the drum door, but the burner kept going. I turned the dryer on and off from the control screen, still i could here the burner still going. I opened and closed the drum door again. I think i slammed it closed as i was starting to panic. At that moment i heard the burner go silent. I think the gas burner valve was stuck open and the vibration from me slamming the door was enough to un-stick the valve. Had i not caught the failure at that point or had the burner not closed (i.e. became unstuck at that moment) i think a fire external to the dryer would have happened very soon. I have not had this failure before. Also after the incident as the dryer cooled back down to room temperature i also noticed an odor of burnt electrical. I have not used the dryer since. I phoned Whirlpool and told them about the incident, they offered no help other than saying they could send a technician and i would have to pay for the service.