The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is warning consumers about a potentially fatal device that they might have in their homes – fire extinguisher balls.
Several popular brands, all of which are sold on Amazon, have been called into question for allegedly failing to extinguish fires, which ultimately increased the risk of serious injury – and possible death – to consumers. The agency warned about the following brands of fire extinguisher balls: LVYXON, TATTCHINE, ARMYJY, PETSTIBLE, HelloPharma, Vixuiyz, and JHEUAYK.
For consumers shopping on Amazon, the following ASINs should be avoided, the agency said:
LVYXON: B0BCPL2QY8 and B0BCPH6M9L
TATTCHINE: B0BCYXZ5H9 and B0BCYWR1VH
ARMYJY: B0BB6Y1JQQ
PETSTIBLE: B0BD3RL3K9 and B0BD3T4BNX
HelloPharma: B09YNKKKM2
Vixuiyz: B09YRRL241
JHEUAYK: B0BCQ121VL and B0BCWR36DQ
Failing to meet guidelines
The CPSC explained that one of the biggest issues with these devices is that they don’t meet specific safety requirements for fire extinguishers. All of the brands mentioned above reportedly failed to meet three key safety guidelines: NFPA 10 Standard for Portable Fire Extinguishers, UL 299 Dry Chemical Fire Extinguishers, and UL 711 Rating and Fire Testing of Fire Extinguishers.
All of these devices also posed serious health and safety risks for consumers by failing to actually extinguish fires, according to CPSC.
“Specifically, the identified products can fail to properly disperse fire-suppressing chemicals and fail to extinguish a fire,” the CPSC wrote. “In addition, the products do not have a pressure gauge or pressure indicator, a locking device to reduce the risk of unintentional discharge, a self-closing valve for intermittent discharge, or a nozzle to direct the discharge.”
For any consumers who may have these extinguishers in their homes currently, the CPSC encourages you to stop using them immediately and also dispose of them. Both hazardous waste facilities and local fire departments will accept these devices.
The agency also recommends that consumers report any product-related injuries to SaferProducts.gov to ensure that any future extinguishers meet the UL 299 and UL 711 safety standards.
