Walmart Recalls 2.2 Million Electric Heaters

On Thursday, Walmart announced a voluntary recall of about 2.2 million electric heaters due to fire and burn hazards. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said the heaters can malfunction resulting in overheating, smoking, burning, melting and fire.

The recall involves Flow Pro, Airtech, Aloha Breeze and Comfort Essentials 1500 watt heaters sold exclusively at Walmart stores and Walmart.com between December 2001 and October 2009. The model number is 1013 and can be found on the lower left corner of the back panel of the heater. Consumers are asked to stop using the heaters immediately and return them to any Walmart store for a full refund.

Take a few minutes to check the electric heaters in your home. Heating equipment fires are the second leading cause of fire deaths in American homes and the biggest fire culprit December through January. As you keep your home warm this holiday season, here are some specific fire prevention tips to keep in mind:

• Keep portable heaters at least 3 feet from anything that can burn including furniture, bedding, clothing, pets and people.
• Do not leave space heaters on when you are not in the room or when you go to sleep.
• Do not use gasoline or other substitute fuel in a kerosene heater because the wrong fuel could burn hotter than the design limits of the equipment and cause a serious fire.
• Store kerosene away from heat or open flame in a container approved by the local fire department.
• Have your chimney inspected by a professional before the start of the heating season and cleaned if necessary.
• Use a sturdy fireplace screen when burning fires.
• Burn only wood. Never burn paper or pine boughs, which can float out the chimney and ignite your roof or a neighboring

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