Air fryers are pretty affordable kitchen appliances. You can get one from a well-trusted brand for under £100 that will cover most of your needs, and bigger, more powerful options are available at reasonable prices too.
With such affordability, and the promise of faster, cheaper and healthier meals, air fryers have become wildly popular. Generally speaking, we’d recommend going for a big name brand like Ninja, which comes with strong safety protocols and high quality parts at a reasonable price.
Where dangerous faults are concerned, they often seem to come from the budget options from lesser-known brands.
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Rebecca Sim from Prestwich, Manchester, acted fast to save her kitchen when she saw flames licking out from inside her Tower air fryer.
The retired mum-of-two threw the appliance outside where it quickly erupted into an ‘inferno’. She said she felt lucky to have been within reach of it while it cooked bacon, else the fire could easily have spread within her home.
"I was really shocked," said the former teacher. "Thank God I didn't leave it - it could have burnt the kitchen down."
"My daughters used to leave the food to cook, while they got ready,” she told the Manchester Evening News. “Thank God I didn’t. I noticed the flickering and a plastic smell, so I knocked the switch off with a wooden spoon, unplugged it and smothered it with a damp tea towel.
Rebecca said the machine was only a year old and had been thoroughly cleaned before use, with the fire coming as a complete surprise.
"So many people have now got air fryers, and so many of my friends have got one," she said.
"They all say they often leave it cooking while they go and do something. It is very simple to use and it had been thoroughly cleaned, so I wasn't expecting it.
"It was a really nasty experience that could have been far, far worse without my quick-thinking. I know that with the cost of living crisis many people are trying to reduce costs and have bought air fryers."
She continued: "When I removed the tea towel I saw smoke and the beginnings of what looked like flames in the base of the fryer.
"I have multiple sclerosis and I am not that fast or strong so with much difficulty I picked it up and threw it out the back door where it turned into an inferno.
"I was just shocked - I was thinking: 'What if that had been my daughter?'
"I couldn't believe how quickly it burnt up and there was so much noise. It was really shocking."
Tower, the manufacturer, said it would investigate the incident back in 2023.
"The consumer involved contacted us on Wednesday (4 January) regarding her experience,” said the brand’s statement.
"Whilst we are pleased that Rebecca is OK we are reaching out to her seeking to obtain the air fryer so an investigation can be carried out.
"The safety of our products is of the upmost importance to Tower and a thorough investigation will help us to understand the circumstances."
It’s possible that the bacon was responsible for fuelling the fire. Experts recommend cooking bacon elsewhere, as its high fat content means it has a tendency to spit inside the tray as it cooks. The grease can reach up onto the element and potentially catch fire.
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Rachael Davis