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All fridges, freezers and fridge freezers need insulation to keep cool. This insulation is flammable, so it's essential that it's sufficiently protected in the event of a fire. Cyclopentane 3d

Following our campaign against fire-risk fridge freezers, new British safety standards designed to make these appliances safer were introduced on 11 July 2019.

It can be difficult to tell whether or not a fridge freezer, fridge or freezer has a plastic back.

If you own, or have bought or acquired a second-hand fridge freezer, our tool below should be able to tell you what type of backing material it has. 

If the model you're looking for isn't in our tool (or for any reason you can't see our tool), we recommend contacting the manufacturer. 

Please note: products made since the new safety standards were introduced in July 2019 might not be listed in the tool. 

Those who already own an appliance with a flammable plastic back should be reassured that the likelihood of a refrigerator fire is very low. Our March 2018 research analysing government fire data found that only 8% of fires caused by faulty household appliances were caused by fridge freezers, fridges or freezers.

It's also important to note that the material used in the backing can allow an existing fire to spread – it isn’t the cause of fire itself.

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