Buyers of white goods such as tumble dryers and fridges are being urged to ensure they register them with the manufacturer.

Home Affairs Minister Bill Malarkey said it was vital to ensure that any safety warnings and recalls about a particular model reached all those who owned one.

The warning came days after a tumble dryer fire in Ramsey.

Mr Malarkey revealed, in answer to a House of Keys question tabled by Jason Moorhouse (Arbory, Castletown and Malew), that last year there were seven fires that were started by domestic appliances.

The minister said: ’Once you register that appliance, if a fault develops throughout any time of its lifetime you are notified by post because you are registered.

’If you have not registered that appliance and a fault develops on the appliance you have no way, unless the Office of Fair Trading has a notification in the paper or you hear something on the radio, of knowing that you have a faulty appliance.

’These faulty appliances are often repaired free of charge by the manufacturer.’

He said the importance of registering was highlighted by disasters such as the Grenfell Tower fire, which it is believed started with a faulty fridge.

Mr Moorhouse said there was a website www.whitegoodssafety.com where owners could enter their product details and see if there were any safety warnings.

Two appliances from Ramsey station were called to a house fire in Ellan Park on Tuesday at about 10.30pm.

Crews were informed as they drove to the scene that the fire was located in the garage and that the tumble dryer was well alight. They used a combination of a dry powder extinguisher and a hose reel to extinguish the fire.

Station officer Mark Caley said: ’In this instance the tumble dryer was in the garage separate from the house, so there was no damage to the home.

’The fire service would like to remind all owners of tumble dryers the importance of keeping the filters clean and to not be tempted to leave them unattended.’