Fireplace Wall Controls Recalled by Hearth & Home Technologies; High Temperatures Can Result in Property Damage

Recall Insight

This CPSC action (record #08576) was formally reported on May 28, 2008. It is classified under Moderate severity, with a current status of Active. Hearth & Home Technologies Inc., of Lakeville, Minn. (Fireplace) is listed as the recalling firm. Federal records indicate About 22,000 units are affected.

The documented reason for this recall is: Failure in the wall control system can cause the fireplace to turn on by itself creating a risk of property damage. If the control fails and the consumer has left combustible objects directly in front of an unattended f… 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: Consumers should disable the fireplace until the repair is performed if they will be away from their residence for an extended period of time. Retailers are contacting consumers directly to inform th… — 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 18 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.