WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is warning consumers about the risk of smoke inhalation associated with the use of PETRICOR, VARWANEO, and WJZTEK combination smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) detectors. The detectors can fail to alert consumers to the presence of hazardous smoke.
Most fatalities in residential fires are due to smoke inhalation, rather than heat and flames. In typical residential fire scenarios, there may be as little as one or two minutes to escape after the smoke alarm sounds before the conditions in the home become incapacitating or deadly. More than 2,390 people in the United States die every year from residential structure fires. Furthermore, the risk of dying in a fire is twice as high in homes without a working smoke alarm (1.18 per 1,000), as compared to homes with smoke alarms (0.53 per 1,000).”
If a combination smoke and CO detector that does not alert to the presence of an elevated level of carbon monoxide or smoke is installed in a home, and carbon monoxide or smoke enters the home, the consumer will not be warned of these harmful conditions, making injury or death very likely. Smoke sensitivity tests performed on the PETRICOR, VARWANEO, and WJZTEK detectors by CPSC found that they failed to alert when exposed to pre-determined concentrations of smoke, in violation of UL 217, a voluntary safety standard.
The combination detectors are made of white plastic, with approximate dimensions of 4 x 1.5 x 4 inches. The PETRICOR and VARWANEO models feature a digital display. The PETRICOR and WJZTEK models feature a label on the back which lists the model number. The combination detectors are advertised to detect dangerous levels of smoke or carbon monoxide and alert with a flashing red LED and a loud alarm pattern. Model No. MQ-808 was sold under the Amazon ASIN B09DPPFJZJ; and Model No. ACJ-512COM was sold under the Amazon ASIN B0928QZ21C; and Model No. KT-X3 was sold under the Amazon ASIN B07QVC2722 and B07M8LR9M7. The combination smoke and CO detectors were sold on Amazon.com for between $15 and $53.
CPSC urges consumers not to purchase or sell these combination smoke and CO detectors. Stop using them and dispose of these products immediately and install new, working CO detectors. Report a dangerous product or a product-related injury on www.SaferProducts.gov.
Note: Consumers should install combination smoke and CO detectors on each level of their homes and outside separate sleeping areas. Combination smoke and CO detectors should be battery operated or have battery backup. Test combination smoke and CO detectors frequently and replace batteries as needed. Consumers should only buy combination smoke and CO detectors that meet both the UL 2034 and UL 217 safety standards.
Individual Commissioners may have statements related to this topic. Please visit www.cpsc.gov/commissioners to search for statements related to this or other topics.