SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20260714-DF31F-2147313922. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Product: Whirlpool WRF535SWHZ00 (Whirlpool French-door refrigerator , Stainless Gray, about 25.2 cubic feet, 70 1/8 inches high, 35 5/8 inches wide, and 35 1/2 inches deep (including doors/handles)). Incident: On May 17, 2026, my Whirlpool French-door refrigerator (Model: WRF535SWHZ) experienced a catastrophic electrical failure that resulted in an active internal fire. The fire originated from a manufacturing defect within the ice mold heater inside the ice maker. The fire melted plastic components inside the freezer ice maker and filled both the entire freezer and refrigerator cabins with thick, acrid, toxic plastic smoke. The fire created an immediate hazard of residential structure fire, heavy smoke inhalation, and toxic contamination of the home's food supply. Due to the migration of vaporized plastic particles and carbon deposits into the sealed polyurethane foam insulation behind the interior liner walls and into the internal water/ice delivery lines, the appliance is completely contaminated and cannot be safely remediated or repaired for residential food storage. As well, on the day of the incident we were fortunate to be home and my wife was standing 3 feet from the refrigerator when the large mass of smoke and toxic gas escaped the top and sides of the Whirlpool french door refrigerator, filling our kitchen, eating area, and side room with the smoke and liquid gas. So much that we had to open the windows and door to get the caustic smoke out. I happened to be standing behind the wall just a few feet from our breaker box so my wife was able to yell at me that the fridge was on fire and looked like it was going to blow up, and for me to shut off the fridge immediately. The electrical breaker was shut off to the refrigerator, preventing further fire spread and/or major smo