CPSC and Central recall Omega fire sprinklers
On October 14, 1998, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Central Sprinkler initiated a nationwide recall of some 8.4 million Omega brand fire sprinklers manufactured since 1982 by Central Sprinkler Corp. and its subsidiary Central Sprinkler Co. (Lansdale, Pa.) The CPSC alleges that the Omegas are defective and could likely fail in a fire. As part of the settlement agreement, Central has asked Underwriters Laboratories to withdraw its listing of approval for all Omega brand fire sprinklers. The recall announcement followed the resolution of the lawsuit filed by the CPSC against these companies on March 3, 1998.
According to the CPSC, on average, between 30 and 40 percent of Omegas removed for testing from various locations across the country did not activate as they should. In some buildings, all Omegas tested failed to activate.
The CPSC has received reports of Omega sprinklers not functioning in 17 fires. At least four injuries and more than $4.3 million in property damage have been reported since 1990. Failures have been reported in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. In some cases, the sprinkler directly above the fire failed to operate.
Omega fire sprinklers are installed in homes, schools, hospitals, dormitories, nursing homes, prisons, offices, hotels, and federal buildings such as the Smithsonian Museums and the U.S. Capitol. The sprinklers have been and are being removed from many state and federal buildings, including the White House.
The CPSC is urging consumers to immediately determine whether the buildings in which they live and work are equipped with Omegas and, if so, to call the Omega Sprinkler Recall Hotline, available 24 hours a day, at (899) 896-5685, or to access the Omega recall website at Omegarecall.com. For monetary reimbursement for installation costs, consumers must submit a proof of claim and release to Central Sprinkler by August 1, 1999.
Central is offering consumers free re-placement glass bulb fire sprinklers and reimbursement toward the cost of having the Omega sprinklers removed and re-placed. The CPSC routinely requires companies to pay the full costs associated with recalls. In this case, however, Central`s reported financial condition reveals that it has limited ability to pay for the cost of replacing the Omega sprinklers.
According to Operation Life Safety (Vol. 13:7, July 1998), U.S. Administrative Law Judge William B. Moran rejected Central Sprinkler`s motion to dismiss the CPSC complaint. Central had asked for dismissal on two points: (1) The CPSC lacked jurisdiction because residential sprinklers are not consumer items and (2) the CPSC complaint was not sufficiently detailed in that it did not show how Omega heads were failing.
With regard to the first argument, Judge Moran cited a prior case ruling that “products which are primarily or exclusively sold to industrial or institutional buyers would be included in the definition of consumer products so long as they were produced or distributed for the use of consumers.”
As for argument 2, the judge concluded that the counsel for the CPSC “has no duty to provide an explanation of how it is that the sprinklers malfunction. It is sufficient only to demonstrate that they do have a significant failure rate.”
At a prehearing conference in June, Judge Moran set a schedule for discovery hearings that were expected to run through November 1998; the trial was set to begin in December (after press time). The specific date and location of the trial had not been announced at press time. Judge Moran`s decision is available through the CPSC docket office (CPSC Docket No. 98-2–“Order of Motion to Dismiss Complaint for Lack of Jurisdiction and for Insufficient Pleadings”) at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpsc pub/prerel/prhtml98/98075.html.
