Recall Issued for 15 Million Surge Protectors After Injuries, Fire Risk

A massive recall has been issued for nearly 15 million surge protectors after hundreds of reports involving the products over heating and causing smoke damage, which has resulted in over $1.5 million in property damage and at least 13 injuries from burns and smoke inhalation.  

The APC SurgeArrest surge protectors recall was announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on October 3, after the manufacturer received at least 700 reports of overheating surge protectors.

Reports indicate 55 consumers experienced property damage in homes amounting in $916,000 and $750,000 in offices, as well as reports indicating consumers suffered from smoke inhalation and contact burns from touching the overheated surge protectors.

The recall includes APC 7 and 8 series Surge Arrest surge protectors manufactured before 2003 with the following model numbers; 7 series models with model numbers NET7, NET7T, NET7T-C, PER7, PER7C, PER7T, PER7T-CO, PER7TX137, PER7-U, PER7-U, PER7X148, PRF7T, PRO7, PRO7C, PRO7T, and PRO7TX183, and 8 series with model numbers NET8, NET8N, PER8T, PER8TR, PER8TR-CN, PER8TVR, PER8XTV, PRF8T2, PRF8TT, PRO8, PRO8T2, PRO8T2C, PRO8T2MP12, PRO8T2MP12B, PRO8TV. The affected surge protectors also have the words Personal, Professional, Performance, or Network printed on them.

The products were manufactured in China under American Power Conversion (APC), currently known as Schneider Electric Corp., located in West Kingston, Rhode Island, where they were sold at Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, and other stores nationwide from January 1993 through December 2002 for between $13 and $50.

Consumers with affected products should cautiously unplug them and contact Schneider Electric at (888) 437-4007 or visit them online at http://recall.apc.com or www.apc.com and navigate to the “Recall” link to submit a claim and receive more information on how to obtain a free replacement surge protector.