Fire in Laundry Tumble Dryer

A fire in #1 tumble dryer in the platform laundry was caused by the contents of the dryer drum (coveralls) igniting. The fire was identified by fixed platform detection systems and extinguished by the Emergency Response Team. All platform personnel went to muster stations and production was shut down.

The tumble dryer heating element contactor had stuck in the closed position, meaning that at the end of the drying cycle, heating continued instead of the machine switching into a short cooling cycle.

The safety cut-out design relied on the stuck contactor being able to open, and so failed to operate. Heating of the drum contents therefore continued until the coveralls ignited.

There was no one present in the laundry room at the end of the drying cycle so the coveralls were not immediately removed from the dryer at end of cycle.