Editor's Note: Total Recall

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) usually only hits the news cycle because a toy has been recalled due to a danger it poses to children. This makes sense – the nightly news tends to want to pad its ratings, and the teaser “this toy can injure your child” is likely good enough to keep viewers tuned in until they find out what it is.

But the CPSC’s purview goes far beyond defective hoverboards and cribs. It can be quite the eye-opening experience to peruse the list of recalled products at www.cpsc.gov/recalls. As of this writing, 220 products have been deemed dangerous enough for a recall in 2018 alone – everything from kids toys and garments to lawnmowers, ATVs, laptop batteries and fireworks.

How many of these products are in your home? What about in your customers’ homes? Even more relevant, how many of them are in your tech’s truck right now? It turns out that there are quite a few security-related and life safety products on the list; thus, it makes sense to scroll through this list once or twice a year – at least.

Here’s a handful of the recalls that struck me as relevant to a security integrator. While you hopefully don’t carry or use them, your role as trusted advisor means your techs should be on the lookout for them in the homes and facilities of your customers as well.

If you think these products directly affect you or your business, search for them by name at the site above for details on identifying the product and how to return it.

• Honeywell’s SWIFT wireless gateway was recalled in May 2017. The gateways are the bridge between the fire alarm control panel and the detectors in commercial buildings and facilities. Brands/models affected: Notifier FWSG; Fire-Lite W-GATE; Gamewell-FCI VW-GATE; Honeywell XLS-WSG; and Johnson Controls JFWSG. Contact Honeywell for a firmware update.

• Zebra Technologies power supply units for thermal printers were recalled beginning in Dec. 2016 and expanded in Aug. 2018. Nearly 1.5 million of these units serve as the power source for models of Zebra thermal industrial printers used to make bar codes and other commercial labels, and 96 different printer models are affected. These units, sold though ScanSource and other familiar distributors, can overheat and catch fire.

• VMA4700 NETGEAR Arlo outdoor power adapters that were sold as aftermarket accessories for the Arlo, Arlo Pro and Arlo Go outdoor cameras have been recalled because water can leak into its weatherproof connector and cause a short circuit – posing a fire hazard. This is a DIY accessory; however, savvy security integrators should be on the lookout for them as they upgrade DIY installations.

• Kidde dual-sensor smoke alarms (models PI2010 and PI9010) were recalled in March 2018 because a yellow cap left on during the manufacturing process can cover one of the two smoke sensors and compromise its ability to detect smoke. This is primarily an end-consumer product, but there are around half a million of them in homes in the U.S. and Canada.

• Kidde fire extinguishers with plastic handles can become clogged or require excessive force to discharge and can fail to activate during a fire emergency. This affects nearly 40 million units (details and part numbers are available at the CPSC site). These are usually end-consumer purchases, but they were also included with many commercial trucks and vehicles.

Other Recalls

Make sure your technicians are staying safe – be on the lookout for these safety product recalls:

• Extech digital clamp meters (models EX650, EX655, MA160, MA61 and MA63). These electrical testing devices can fail to give an accurate voltage reading, resulting in the operator falsely believing the electrical power is low or off.

• Honeywell type 1 Fibre-Metal E2 and North Peak A79 hard hats, which do not properly protect users from impact. Check the details on CPSC for manufacture dates affected.

• Wing Enterprises Little Giant Ladders and Werner Multi-Purpose Telescoping Aluminum Ladders can fail while in use, resulting in a fall.