Pressing air fryer warning as OAP’s machine bursts into flames as he cooked chips

A PENSIONER had a “fortunate escape” after his air fryer burst into flames while cooking oven chips.

James Cooper, 76, mentioned he was left “completely shocked” after his standard Tower cooker caught fireplace while making dinner.

3

3

The fireplace burned for beneath 10 seconds earlier than James – who lives alone – was capable of place the flaming cooker in his backyard and extinguish the blaze.

The pensioner mentioned: “I used to be cooking oven chips, which is strictly what it was designed to do.

“My fryer was solely used three or 4 instances per week and had an easy life, actually.

“At first I believed I had spilt one thing onto the gasoline burner as a result of I might odor intense burning.

“It was an entire shock to see it was the fryer itself that was on fireplace.

“It didn’t burn for very lengthy however the odor caught round for some time afterwards.

He added: “I used to be actually lucky to be proper by it when it went and I might cease it and take it exterior in a short time. However not everybody who has one would’ve been in a position to do this.”

James, from Cheltenham, claims producer Tower – which sells 23 various kinds of air fryers – advised him to easily return the machine and declare a refund.

The retired constructing surveyor mentioned: “I feel with points like this the place it really catches fireplace they need to be issuing a recall.”

The kitchen gadget – which sells for anyplace between £30 and £200 has swept the nation as a low-cost cooking various – with gasoline and electrical costs spiking resulting from the price of residing disaster.

Analysis final yr discovered gross sales of the cooker soared by 3000% – with the machine costing simply £55 a yr to run, in comparison with electrical cookers which might see customers cough up greater than £350 a yr.

However James mentioned the fiery incident had put him off utilizing the finances kitchen software.

He mentioned: “I’d by no means purchase one other one and I’ve advised my grandson to throw his out since you by no means know what might occur.

“It might have been a lot worse. I used to be horrified after I regarded on-line and noticed photographs of different individuals’s fryers.”

Fireplace service stats present air fryers ignited 37 fires in 2022 – double the determine from 2021.

Earlier this yr Manchester mum Rebecca Sim’s kitchen was virtually burned down after the fryer almost fried her.

The 52-year-old from Prestwich, Better Manchester, mentioned a small flame quickly became an “inferno” as she threw the gadget exterior.

The retired trainer, who has a number of sclerosis, mentioned: “I used to be actually shocked… Thank God I didn’t go away it – it might have burned the kitchen down.

“It was a very nasty expertise that would have been far, far worse with out my quick-thinking.”

Tower have been contacted for remark.

3