CPSC, Kidde Announce Recall of Industrial Fire Extinguishers

Recall Insight

This CPSC action (record #05589) was formally reported on July 26, 2005. It is classified under Moderate severity, with a current status of Active. Walter Kidde Portable Equipment Inc., of Mebane, N.C. is listed as the recalling firm. Federal records indicate About 470,000 units are affected, a scale large enough to require multi-state distribution tracking.

The documented reason for this recall is: The nylon valves on these extinguishers can separate from the steel cylinder during the 6-year recharge service or shortly afterwards, creating a safety hazard to fire extinguisher service personnel and consumers. Distribution information was not included in the agency filing, so consumers should assume broad potential exposure until the firm publishes point-of-sale details. The remedy documented by the agency is: Fire Extinguisher Distributors and Service Organizations must immediately stop servicing all units covered under this Alert. Kidde has instituted a Fire Extinguisher Replacement Program ("Replacement… — consumers holding this product should act on that instruction rather than relying on general guidance.

To put this record in context, PlainRecalls indexes 83,949 recalls across the FDA, CPSC, NHTSA and USDA FSIS going back to 1995. Within the same product category, the database holds 6 closely related recalls, of which 1 were also issued by CPSC. That clustering is a signal — repeated actions in a narrow category often indicate a systemic quality-control issue, a supplier-wide contamination, or a design defect that has propagated across product lines. This recall is roughly 21 years old; older recalls can remain relevant because many units enter resale, rental, and secondary-market channels where the original warning never reaches the end user. Always cross-check the recall number against the official agency page before relying on any summary.