Fire safety company Kidde recently recalled nearly 500,000 smoke alarms, announcing that the units are possibly faulty.
Out an abundance of caution, the North-Carolina based business is recalling 452,000 smoke alarms in the U.S. and 40,000 in Canada that might fail to detect smoke. However, the Triad Business Journal reported that the number of defective units might not be that staggering.
The recall is for Kidde smoke alarms with model numbers PI2010 and PI9010. (The model numbers are located on the back of the units.)
Kidde said the alarms were sold from September 2016 through January of this year at various department, home, and hardware stores, including Menards, The Home Depot, Walmart, Amazon, and ShopKidde.com.
#Recall information for certain Kidde dual sensor smoke alarms: https://t.co/K8XDrw2DbN pic.twitter.com/lgBPdKhEWe
— Kidde Fire Safety (@KiddeSafety) March 21, 2018
“It is worth noting that we believe the population affected by the smoke alarm recall will be very small in absolute numbers,” Kidde spokesperson Kathy Deveny told the Triad Business Journal.
“We have voluntarily initiated this recall out of an abundance of caution. We expect affected units to account for a fraction of one percent of the smoke alarms being recalled.”
The alert issued to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPC) stated that a yellow cap was erroneously left on the unit during manufacturing. The cap supposedly covers one of the two sensors, which could “compromise the smoke alarm’s ability to detect smoke,” the bulletin explained.
If your alarm has a yellow cap, Kidde advised against dismantling or attempting to repair the alarm. If there’s no yellow cap, the company said to “reinstall the smoke alarm” as no further action is required.
According to the Triad Business Journal, the units were manufactured in China by Fyrnetics Limited and distributed from Kidde’s headquarters, located in Mebane, North Carolina.
The Insurance Journal noted that Kidde recalled nearly 40 million fire extinguishers last year following reports that they didn’t work—and even caused one death in 2014.
Anyone who has one of the recently-recalled smoke alarms can get a replacement by calling 833-551-7739 or by going to Kidde’s recall service. Kidde said that those affected should only discard their alarms after receiving a replacement.
[Featured Image: Kidde smoke alarms/Consumer Product Safety Commission]
