About 700,000 remote control kits for electric fire places and stoves, manufactured by Dimplex North America, have been recalled due to a risk of overheating problems that may cause a fire or burn hazards. At least one house fire has been linked to problems with the electric fireplace and stove remote controls.
The stove and fireplace remote control recall was announced on March 16 by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which said that the plug-in wall units for the remote controls can overheat, leading to potential fire and burn hazards for consumers. The recall comes after Dimplex North America, based in Ontario, Canada, received about 5,000 reports that the wall units had overheated.
In at least 19 cases, defective remote control kits caused damage, and one incident led to a house fire in Columbus, Ohio which the CPSC says resulted in “considerable property damage.” There were no reports of injuries or deaths connected to the remote controls.
The recall affects remote control kits used with electric fireplaces, stoves and fireplace inserts sold under the Dimplex, Electraflame, Symphony, Optiflame, Electralog and Charmglow labels. The model numbers of the recalled remote control kits are 47-1001, 47-1010-R and APT-1315. The remote controls are black or dark gray and come with a hand held unit and a wall unit that plugs into an electrical socket. The model number is printed on either the remote control or the wall unit, and the brand name of the fireplace or stove is printed on both.
The remote control kits were sold with the fire places and stoves at home improvement, mass merchandise, and specialty fireplace and furniture stores nationwide from January 1998 through December 2008 for between $200 and $1,500.
The CPSC recommends that users immediately stop using the remote control kits and completely unplug the power cord and wall unit. Consumers can contact Dimplex for a free repair kit at www.recall.dimplex.com. The fireplaces and stoves can continue to be used by plugging them directly into an electrical outlet.