201221 - Faulty automatic kettle caught fire

The electric kettles being used on board typically consisted of a cordless stainless steel jug fitted with a plastic base that contained the electric heating element. Power was supplied via a male-female central connector mounted on the base unit, also made of plastic. Following a mid-afternoon coffee break, the crew had left the messroom and had failed to notice that the water in the kettle was still boiling and the automatic thermostat switch had not operated and cut off the power supply to the heating coil. Some minutes later, all the water had evaporated and without any more heat load, the temperature rose high enough for the plastic base and kettle bottom to melt and ultimately catch fire. The strong smell of burning plastic drew the attention of a passing crewmember, who, after seeing the fire and smoke at the base of the electric kettle, quickly disconnected the power cord from the supply socket and transferred the burning kettle and base unit into the adjacent galley sink and turned on the water, successfully extinguishing the fire.

Root cause/contributory factors
1. Automatic thermostatic switch malfunction;
2. Negligence on the part of the crew in not observing that the kettle was still boiling when they left the messroom at the end of the coffee break.

Corrective/preventative actions

1. All existing kettles permanently removed from use and replaced with new ones;

2. Prominent notices displayed near all electrical appliances requiring the disconnection of power cord from electrical supply outlet when not in use;

3. An incident report was sent to the office to be shared with the rest of the fleet;

4. Incident discussed at the next onboard safety meeting.