SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20230124-55126-2147351182. Severity: No Incident, No Injury. Product: Bella Pro Series AF-501C (Its a small box shape air fryer with a stainless steel finish. the bottom is comprised of mostly plastic, and the display unit is touchscreen with white LEDs . Bella Pro Series 6.3 QT Air Fryer Model : AF - 501C Item : 90110 120V ~ 60 Hz 1700W). Incident: I was gifted a Bella Pro Series Air fryer for Christmas last year (2021). We have used our unit as normal and as the instructions require. As of 2 weeks ago our Bella air fryer unit caught on fire, from what I believe to be some sort of electrical or mechanical failure. I was using the unit as normal, and about 3 - 5 minutes into it heating up, smoke started pouring from the top of the machine. Where the cord meets the actual unit there was a fire, and the plastic and wires were melting. I grabbed an oven mitt, and a wet towel and had to throw the machine outside, and use a fire extstinguisher. The plastic on the bottom was so hot it was melting and dripping plastic on my kitchen floor. I have sent multiple photos and tried to notify Made by Bella / Bella Housewares for about 2 weeks now, only to have my message left for a supervisor who will not call me back. I feel as if some of these machines depending on when they were produced could have some sort malfunction to them. Injuries that could have happened - my girlfriend (32 y.o.) and son (1 y.o.) were in the house, and if I had left the room to go do something else the kitchen would have been on fire. No injuries were involved.