Kidde recalls over 4.7M fire extinguishers

A massive recall has been ordered for the very things that can save your home before it goes up in flames. The company Kidde is recalling nearly 5 million units of their disposable fire extinguishers in the US and Canada because of a faulty plastic valve that may not let the product properly discharge. The company has received 11 reports of their fire extinguishers failing to discharge as expected. No injuries have been reported.

There are 31 models of the disposable fire extinguishers in question that include the black plastic valve, sold in big box stores like Wal-Mart and Home Depot. The company estimates that 4.6 million Americans, as well as 175,000 Canadians purchased the products between July 2013 through November 2014. The recalled extinguishers are red, white, or silver in color and either ABC or BC rated. The manufacturer date should be stamped on the side of the cylinder, near the bottom.

It’s not the first time Kidde has been in the news because of their products. Mike Shayne, from Desert Fire Extinguisher Company in Palm Springs, pointed out a recall he saw in 2007 as well as one of their disposable fire extinguishers exploding in someone’s motor home because of the heat. “A lot of people bring in the Kidde extinguishers and they decide to get rid of it and we give them a trade-in credit and give them a really good price on a brand new commercial quality fire extinguisher and they seem to be happy with it,” said Shayne. He also gave tips on how to check your extinguisher, such as lifting it up to check the weight, making sure the gauge is in the green area, and checking the pull pin on the extinguisher is sealed. Unfortunately, actual testing of a fire extinguisher is not possible. Once you pull the pin and squeeze the valve, the valve gets contaminated and needs to be used immediately, otherwise the fire extinguisher is rendered useless for a later date. “Once you use an extinguisher, even for one second, powder gets into the valve, and the valve will cause the extinguisher to leak within a couple hours or a couple days,” Shayne added.

Kidde model numbers involved in the recall include 10BC, 1A 10BC, 1A 10BCW, 2A10BC, 5BC, 5BCW, FA10G, FA110, FA5B, FC10, FC110, FC5, FH/ RESSP, FX10, FX10BC, FX10K, FX210, FX210R, FX210W, FX340GW, FX340SC, FX5II, KFH Twin, M110 Twin, M5 Twin, Mariner 10, Mariner 110, Mariner 5, Mariner 5 G, RESSP, and XL 5MR. Consumers should contact Kidde for a replacement at 855-283-7991, or online at www.kidde.com.

The link to the official recall is below.

http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2015/Kidde-Recalls-Disposable-Plastic-Fire-Extinguishers/