Domestic appliances - yes, I am going to nag you!

@ricky101 - nobody can predict when failure is likely to occur regardless of the brand, however as a general rule of thumb the brands that I personally would not touch, I would expect to have a considerably shorter lifespan.

As an example, when we first set up home together, Mrs C and I had a Hotpoint washing machine that didn't last more than 18 months; the following Hoover, about the same. That was followed by and LG which lasted around 5 years, and in fairness to it, its demise was premature as a result of a house move where the drum was not locked before it was loaded onto the van (I was not there to oversee its removal); the current Bosch is now at least 10 years old and still going strong - and if it were to fail tomorrow, I would not bat an eyelid before buying another Bosch.

The most common failures on fridge freezers are either thermostat failure (mostly unrepairable on the low quality brands as they embed the probe into the plastic housing of the machine), or a seized/failed compressor. If you are unlucky, the refrigerant gas may leak, and it is that gas that is flammable - they are even using a form of propane as a refrigerant gas nowadays.

Unless the failure is sudden and fairly catastrophic, I would expect warning signs to alert you - as mentioned earlier, a noisy compressor or one running continuously being the biggest warning signs.

And then there is the final caveat - even the lower quality brands will produce models that are (surprisingly) trouble free; we ended up with a Hotpoint chest freezer because it was the only one on the market that would fit in the space we had at our last house. It is now seven years old, and seems to work just fine. It lives in an outbuilding, so if it did turn nasty, the likelihood is that we and everything in the house would be fine. I am not going to prematurely replace the freezer just because it is a Hotpoint - - when it does die, it will be replaced with something Bosch/Siemens/Neff/Miele.

If your fridge is working for now, then be happy. Keep it clean and safe (as you are already doing) and don't stack anything on top of it lest it cause overheating.

It is sensible for every kitchen to have a fire blanket (I am happy to go into more detail as to how one should be used if you need me to), and if you really want peace of mind, a fire extinguisher (Foam or Powder - NOT water!). Make sure your home has working smoke alarms, and make sure that the whole family knows what to do when they go off. As a family, discuss (or even practice if you can), alternative escape routes should the doors be blocked. And above all, remember - the best fire extinguisher you can get is a big red one that carries trained people - get out, phone the fire brigade and stay out!

EDIT - re: the 167cm versus 155cm tall fridges - bear in mind that the difference is only 12cm (about four inches), and by the time that translates to the interior of the fridge, it is very little. Our new fridge is really tall (I didn't check the height when I ordered it , and when it was delivered I was really concerned that Mrs C might not be able to reach stuff on the top shelf (she is my pretty little one, you see) - in reality, once in a blue moon I will have to get something from the very back of the top shelf for her - everything else is fine, and I have the peace of mind that it is a Siemens which is built like a brick sh*thouse