Kidde, a popular manufacturer of fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, and CO alarms, has recently issued a voluntary recall on several of their products. It involves Kidde residential smoke alarms with model number i12010S manufactured between Dec. 18, 2013 and May 13, 2014, and combination smoke/CO alarms with model number i12010SCO manufactured between Dec. 30, 2013 and May 13, 2014 and model number KN-COSM-IBA manufactured between Oct. 22, 2013 and May 13, 2014.

The reason for this recall is as follows:
If a power outage occurs at the same second that a unit is performing a sensor health check, the unit may go into a “latched” mode, causing it not to alert to the presence of smoke. It will sound if it receives a signal from an alarm in the same interconnected system. Once power is restored, a latched unit will sound an alert, regardless of the presence of re and/or carbon monoxide (for combination units) until power to the unit is completely removed.

September 11, 2014
Dear Valued Fire Service Professional:

Walter Kidde Portable Equipment Inc. (“Kidde”) in conjunction with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced a voluntary recall to replace certain Kidde AC/DC smoke alarms and combination smoke/carbon monoxide alarms. A copy of the joint recall announcement can be seen by clicking here and attached is the safety notice. Kidde has sent copies to our retail customers with instructions to post a copy of the safety notice in stores that sold these alarms.

This replacement program was initiated because the units may not perform as designed following a power outage. If a power outage occurs at the same second that a unit is performing a sensor health check, the units may go into a “latched” mode, causing them not to alert to the presence of smoke. The unit will sound if it receives a signal from an alarm in the same interconnected system. Once power is restored, a latched unit will sound an alert, regardless of the presence of smoke or carbon monoxide, until power to the alarm is completely removed.  It involves Kidde residential smoke alarms with model number i12010S manufactured between Dec. 18, 2013 and May 13, 2014, and combination smoke/CO alarms with model number i12010SCO manufactured between Dec. 30, 2013 and May 13, 2014 and model number KN-COSM-IBA manufactured between Oct. 22, 2013 and May 13, 2014.

Kidde discovered the issue during an internal quality check. There have been no incidents reported, but due to our commitment to quality and safety, Kidde has taken action out of an abundance of caution. We have corrected the issue on future models, and are working with customers to obtain all affected units currently in stock.

If you receive inquiries please direct them to contact Kidde at 1-844-553-9011 or www.Kidde.com.  

We value our relationship with the state fire marshals and NASFM and appreciate your understanding as we take care of this matter. If you have any questions, you can contact Neal Zipser, Kidde’s Community Affairs Manager, at 919-304-8264.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and sincerely thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
Sincerely,
Chris Rovenstine
Vice-President, Sales and Marketing
Kidde