Samsung recalls 1 million stoves that started 250 fires and killed pets
A recall has been issued for more than one million Samsung stoves after hundreds of reports of them being turned on accidentally, leading to fires that injured dozens and killed at least seven pets, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a statement on Thursday.
Customers who own one of the 30 recalled models of Samsung electric ranges that the company has been selling since 2013 will be able to get a free set of knob locks or covers to minimize the risk of ignition by accidental contact with humans or pets, the company said in a statement announcing its voluntary recall on Thursday.
More than 1.1 million electric ranges were included in the recall. The ranges were responsible for about 250 fires that caused about 40 injuries. Eight of the injuries needed medical attention, and there were 18 instances of “extensive property damage,” the commission’s statement said.
When asked exactly how many pets died, and why it took 11 years since the company started selling the flawed ranges before the recall was issued, a spokeswoman for the commission declined to comment, referring to Samsung and the commission’s website for questions.
Christopher Langlois, a spokesman for Samsung, said consumers should be mindful of the risks of accidental contact with range knobs for any stove. They should keep their stove tops clean and clear, keep children and pets away, and make sure that stoves are turned off after cooking, the company said in a statement.
Samsung is asking people who have one of its ranges to contact the company to see if they are eligible for the free, self-install knob locks or covers that reduce the possibility of accidental ignition.
Knob locks have little prongs that stick under the knobs, preventing them from moving out of the off position. Knob covers are small plastic pieces that must be flipped to reveal the push and turn mechanism that ignites stoves. Some models require the user to squeeze the knob in order to turn on the stove. Another model has an application that alerts the owner if the appliance is on. Some of the app-configured stoves were included in the recall.
“Samsung did the right thing by issuing this recall,” Catie Cryar, a spokeswoman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an animal rights organization, said in an email. “PETA urges anyone affected by this recall, to request the appropriate covers or stove locks right away.”
In an image from a home surveillance camera posted on Colorado Springs Fire Department Facebook page last month a dog is seen standing up against a front electric stove. The stove top starts to glow, which ignites the boxes on top of it. The kitchen is then engulfed by flames. Samsung, based out of South Korea, recalled over two million phones in 2016 due to battery fire concerns. In 2022, the commission issued recall statements for more than half a million washing machines due to fire hazards.
