Washington D.C.-The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Central Sprinkler Company, an affiliate of Tyco Fire Products, LP (Lansdale, PA) have announced a voluntary replacement program for Central’s O-ring fire sprinklers. The recall includes wet and dry sprinklers installed nationwide in a variety of buildings and involves 33 million wet sprinklers with O-rings from 1989 to 2000 and two million dry sprinklers with O-rings from the mid 1970s to June 2001. Central has discovered that the performance of these O-ring sprinklers can degrade over time because of corrosion.
The fire sprinkler heads have the words “CENTRAL” or “STAR,” the letters “CSC,” the letter “G” in a triangle, or a star-shaped symbol stamped on the metal sprinkler frame or the deflector. The model designation and date may also be stamped on the frame or deflector. A table containing all the models covered under this voluntary replacement program can be found at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml01/01201.html.
The company will provide free parts and labor to replace 35 million Central fire sprinklers with O-ring seals. The program also includes a limited number of O-ring models sold by Gem Sprinkler Co. and Star Sprinkler, Inc., totaling about 167,000 sprinkler heads. Central is providing newer fire sprinklers that do not use O-ring seals.
Building owners and homeowners should check their fire sprinklers to see if they are part of the recall program.
For more information on how to identify sprinklers subject to the recall, call the Notice Packet Request Line at (800) 871-3492, or access the program’s Web site at www.SprinklerReplacement.com.
