Dollar Tree Children’s Projector Flashlight Recall: Fire and Burn Hazard

About 275,000 Dollar Tree children’s projector flashlights, featuring a number of popular Marvel Comics characters, have been recalled due to a risk that they may overheat and catch fire.

The projector flashlight recall was announced on Tuesday by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) after the manufacturer, Greenbrier International, Inc., received three reports of the batteries overheating. In one case a flashlight melted and the battery caught fire.

According to the CPSC, the flashlights can cause the batteries and the bulb to overheat, which poses a fire and burn hazard to consumers, including young children. However, there have been no reports of injuries connected with the overheating projector flashlights.

The approximately 275,000 projector flashlights affected by the recall feature Wolverine, Spider-Man or Iron Man 2 themes. They are about 6½ inches in length and come with five mini-discs that can be used to project different images. A product number of 16879-20012-003-1003 and UPC code of 6 39277 16879 5 are located on the back of the packages.

The projector flashlights were sold at Dollar Tree, Dollar Bill$, Dollar Tree $1 Stop, Deal$ and Dollar Tree Deal$ stores nationwide for about $1 from August 2010 to present.

The CPSC recommends that parents take the flashlights away from children immediately, remove and properly discard the batteries and then return the flashlights to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions can visit the company’s website at www.dollartree.com.