NEWS from CPSC
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
| Office of Information and Public Affairs |
Washington, DC 20207 |
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
CONTACT: Universal Recall Hotline: (800) 390-4321 |
| May 25, 2000 |
CPSC Contact: Yolanda Fultz-Morris |
| Release # 00-115 |
(301) 504-0580 Ext. 1219 |
|
CPSC, Universal Security Instruments Announce Recall of Smoke Alarms
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission (CPSC), Universal Security Instruments Inc., of Owings Mills, Md., is
voluntarily recalling about 34,000 smoke alarms. The smoke alarms can fail to
alarm when smoke or fire is present. A capacitor in the alarm can burn out,
releasing smoke and melting the cover.
Universal has received three reports of alarms failing, releasing smoke. There
has been one report of minor smoke damage to the wall of a mobile home. No
injuries have been reported.
Consumers can identify the recalled models by removing the alarm cover from its
base and looking for the manufacture date code and model number. The smoke
alarms are made of white plastic and have the manufacture date code and model
number imprinted on the back of the alarm.
| Brand |
Model Number |
Description |
Date Code |
| Safe T Alert |
SA-785 |
AC only unit |
BCSR |
| Universal |
SS-785 |
AC unit only |
BCSR |
| Universal |
SS-795 |
AC/DC unit w/ battery backup |
BESS |
| USI Electric |
USI-1203 |
AC/DC unit w/ battery backup |
BESS |
Some alarms do not have the brand name printed on the unit. Consumers should
look at the model number to determine if it is a recalled alarm.
Electrical distributors, housing suppliers, and hardware stores sold these smoke
alarms nationwide from April 1998 through June 1999 for between $10 and $15.
Most of these smoke alarms were pre-installed in homes during construction.
Consumers should call Universal Security Instruments Inc. toll- free at (800)
390-4321 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday to receive a free,
replacement alarm.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission protects the public
from the unreasonable risk of injury or death from 15,000 types of consumer
products under the agency's jurisdiction. To report a dangerous product or a
product-related injury, you can go to CPSC's
forms page and use the first on-line form on that page. Or, you can call
CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270, or
send the information to info@cpsc.gov. To
order a press release through fax-on-demand, call (301) 504-0051 from the
handset of your fax machine and enter the release number. Consumers can obtain
this release and recall information from CPSC's web site at www.cpsc.gov
or by calling the hotline or sending your request to info@cpsc.gov.
You can also subscribe to CPSC's email
subscription list which normally sends all press releases the day they are
issued.
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