More than 40 million fire extinguishers sold over a four-decade period have been recalled because they may not work to put out fires, according to an announcement from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Published 6 years ago, updated 5 years ago

The extinguishers, sold by Kidde, can become clogged or “require excessive force to discharge,” and fail to work during a fire emergency, the CPSC said. In addition, the nozzles on some of the extinguishers can detach with enough force to potentially injure someone.

So far, the CPSC has received nearly 400 reports of cases in which the recalled fire extinguishers failed to work properly. These included 91 reports of property damage, 16 reports of injuries (such as smoke inhalation and minor burns) and one death. The death, which occurred in 2014, happened when emergency responders tried to put out a car fire with a Kidde fire extinguisher, but could not get the extinguisher to work, CPSC said.

The recall involves two styles of Kidde fire extinguishers: those with plastic handles and those with a push-button on top. In total, 40.5 million fire extinguishers manufactured from 1973 to 2017 are being recalled.

The extinguishers were sold in red, white and silver, and are either ABC- or BC-rated. The model number is printed on the fire extinguisher label. For units produced in 2007 and beyond, the date of manufacture is a 10-digit date code printed on the side of the cylinder, near the bottom. Digits five through nine represent the day and year of manufacture in DDDYY format. Date codes for recalled models manufactured from January 2, 2012 through August 15, 2017 are 00212 through 22717. For units produced before 2007, a date code is not printed on the fire extinguisher.

Customers with the recalled fire extinguishers should contact Kidde to request a free replacement extinguisher. More information is available on Kidde’s website.