Products pose fire threats
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has announced that the following products are being recalled because they present potential fire hazards:
10,332 Santa Claus ceramic candle holders (Item 66539) are being recalled by Division Sales Inc. of Itasca, Illinois. The item was sold in retail stores for one dollar. The paint used on the holders is flammable and can ignite if the candle flame inside the holder flares up, if flames reach the paint through vent holes in the holder, or if the paint is exposed to an outside flame source.
Five and one-half inches tall, the candle holders have an opening in the back of the metal cup for a wax candle. The Santa figure, holding a lantern, is predominantly red and white and has two star-shaped openings in the back and four star-shaped holes in the front. The holder label on the bottom reads, “MADE IN CHINA.” The product should be returned to the retail store where it was purchased for a refund. For more information, call (800) 621-8134.
Fay`s Drug Stores of Liverpool, New York, is recalling “Spirit of Christmas” 200 Super Brite Lights sets sold between November 14 and December 21, 1994. The fuses in the plug could short circuit. The company received one report of the lights` blowing a house fuse and another of an electrical plug`s partially burning when the lights were plugged into an extension cord. The lights, the only kind sold in Fay`s stores–which also are located in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Vermont–have “W 74C2195 Made in China” inscribed on the back of the box. UL number E-48723 is listed on the red tag on the cord. The lights may have been sold by other retailers under a different name. The lights should be returned to the place of purchase for a refund or replacement. For more information, call (315) 451-8000, ext. 2294.
Some 168,000 Quick N`Easy Micro-Bake Cake Sets for KidsTM are being recalled by Just Toys Inc. of New York, New York. Marketed for children ages eight and older and designed for use in home microwave ovens, the set includes an enclosed, white plastic baking chamber that holds a small metal cake pan. The covered baking chamber may pose a potential fire hazard. The company has received at least 175 complaints of the chamber`s overheating, burning, smoking, or melting inside the microwave oven while baking the cake. In some cases, consumers reported damage to their microwave ovens. The company modified the cake set beginning on November 7, 1994. All sets produced before that date will be exchanged. For more information, call (800) 514-8697.
Some 5,100 “Professor Wacko`s Exothermic Exuberance” chemistry kits, marketed for children ages 10 and older, are being recalled by the Wild Goose Company of Salt Lake City, Utah. The kit demonstrates how heat and fire are generated through a chemical reaction and contains two-ounce bottles of glycerin and potassium permanganate. The bottles are identical, except for their labels and contents. Inadvertent switching of the bottle caps can cause small portions of the chemicals to mix and ignite an unexpected fire. At least two house fires reportedly have resulted from such an occurrence. In addition, the kit does not have adequate warnings and directions for safe use. The kits are distributed by Carson-Dellosa Publishing of Greensboro, North Carolina, and were sold at school supply and Natural Wonders stores nationwide from September 1993 through February 1994. The kits should be returned for a refund. For more information, call the Wild Goose Company at (800) 373-1498.
