The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is seeking evidence for a UK-wide tumble dryer study, putting appliance fire risks under review after a coroner linked a model to a fatal 2025 house fire.
OPSS invited stakeholders on Oct. 28, 2026, to submit published or unpublished evidence by Dec. 1, 2026. The study will cover heat-pump, condenser and vented dryers across brands, manufacturers and price ranges. Planned work includes product testing and comparisons of components, possible ignition and fire-spread routes, safety features, detection and containment, supply chains and repairability. OPSS says its report will not identify the brands examined.
The request follows a report dated Aug. 11, 2026, by HM Senior Coroner Martin Fleming on a June 8, 2025, fire that killed Sohaib Ahmed, 38, and his nine-year-old daughter Manahal Nazir Ahmed. Fleming concluded it was more likely than not that a Hoover DX C10DCER-80 condenser dryer was the fire source, but the ignition mechanism could not be determined.
Fleming also raised concern that 1.6 million current Hoover- and Candy-branded condenser or vented dryers might share characteristics with the model.
The coroner’s report referred to a significant number of fire notifications involving the model. Haier Smart Home UK & I Limited said a list it reviewed had no other entries under the exact code DX C10DCER-80, while the fatal-fire entry used the code DXC10DCERNFC. Haier said references at the inquest to “the model” may have meant condenser dryers generally. The documents do not resolve whether the notifications concerned the exact model.
Haier said the dryer was no longer on sale and production of it and similar models in its Infinity platform ended by the first quarter of 2022. The company said its review found no systemic safety issue in similar models. In an Oct. 7, 2026, response, OPSS said it had received Haier’s risk assessments in July 2026 and was discussing how much assurance they provided. OPSS also said Haier had not given it a causal analysis for the dryer involved in the fire.
The regulator says the study may help identify evidence gaps and guide future regulatory, enforcement or standards work. It has not announced a findings date. Stakeholders can email OPSS.enquiries@businessandtrade.gov.uk with the subject line “Tumble dryer product study – stakeholder evidence” by Dec. 1, 2026.
