38 Million Fire Extinguishers Recalled, Here's How To Check Yours

It's getting close to Thanksgiving, and every year cooks across America accidentally set their kitchens on fire while celebrating, especially if a fried turkey is involved. Before getting started planning their Thanksgiving menus this year, everyone is going to want to check their fire extinguishers. Because 38 million fire extinguishers sold over the course of the past 44 years have been recalled for defective parts, and that could be disastrous in an emergency.

According to The Kitchn, 134 different models of Kidde fire extinguisher have been recalled because the nozzles could get plugged up and not be able to dispense in an emergency.The blocked-up nozzles can even detach from the extinguishers, and fly off with enough force to cause an injury on their own.

This recall is serious business. So far there have been approximately 391 reports of malfunctioning fire extinguishers. Those failures were associated with 16 injuries and 91 reports of property damage. One incident ended in death in 2014, when emergency responders tried to put out a car fire after a crash, but their fire extinguishers didn't work.

Approximately 37.8 million fire extinguishers in the U.S. are expected to be affected by the recall, and 2.7 million more in Canada. They were manufactured between 1973 and 2017, and they were sold all over the place. Retailers that carried the recalled fire extinguishers include Menards, Kohls, Montgomery Ward, Sears, Home Depot, Walmart, Amazon, and more.

The affected models came in red, white, and silver. They sold for between $12 and $50, and one model sold for $200. They were also sold as safety equipment with trucks, RVs, and boats.

The full list of affected fire extinguishers is available on the Consumer Product Safety Commission website. Anyone in possession of one should contact Kidde for a free replacement fire extinguisher, and should return the recalled one, because it may not work in a fire. A functioning fire extinguisher is an important thing to have, because it's important to be prepared when handling all the most dangerous things in a kitchen.