Costco has urgently recalled more than half a million portable battery chargers after two homes caught on fire and more than 100 other instances of the devices overheating were reported.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) told consumers to “immediately stop” using the myCharge POWER HUB All-In-One 10,000mAh portable chargers with model numbers AO10FK-A, AO10FK-B, and AO10FK-C in a Thursday notice.
The chargers, sold exclusively at Costco, have been the subject of 120 reports involving faulty overheating, including two reports of residential fires that resulted in “approximately $165,000 in reported property damage,” officials said.
Costco had already received more than 100 returns of the product after many had melted, begun smoking, caught on fire, exploded, and more.
“There have been no reports of injuries requiring medical attention,” the commission noted.
The recall has impacted about 567,000 battery chargers.
Owners of such chargers have been warned against discarding them in normal trash bins or even designated battery recycling boxes.
“These potentially hazardous batteries must be handled differently than other batteries,” the CPSC said, directing consumers to instead follow the procedures established by one’s municipal recycling center for “damaged/defective/recalled lithium batteries.”
Customers will get a free replacement from myCharge if they contact the company, the commission added.
Costco posted images of the recalled products on the store’s customer service webpage.
