I'm not allowed to post the link since I'm a newbie so check out: FEMA Dot GOV the doc. is "Clothes Dryer Fires in Residential Buildings (2008-2010)"
Some useful stats. to consider:
Findings
■ An estimated 2,900 clothes dryer fires in residential buildings are reported to U.S. fire
departments each year and cause an estimated 5 deaths, 100 injuries, and $35 million in
property loss.
■ Clothes dryer fire incidence in residential buildings was higher in the fall and winter months,
peaking in January at 11 percent.
■ Failure to clean (34 percent) was the leading factor contributing to the ignition of clothes
dryer fires in residential buildings.
■ Dust, fiber, and lint (28 percent) and clothing not on a person (27 percent) were, by far, the
leading items first ignited in clothes dryer fires in residential buildings.
■ Fifty-four percent of clothes dryer fires in residential buildings were confined to the object of
origin.
And it appears the big take-away is that, as a system, a clothes dryer is inherently unsafe (with standard gas or electric elements) as there are no adequate, simple, or passive ways to keep the thing clean. The dryer manufacturers appear to send the problem "downstream" to the ductwork and pass the blame onto something they have no control over.
Bullet point #4 above: At least the saving grace here: you are likely to not start a clothes dryer fire if you are wearing clothes while you are in the dryer.
Thanks
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