Schneider Electric IT Corporation (formerly known as American Power Conversion, or APC) of West Kingston, RI has announced the recall of about 15 million of its APC-brand surge/arrest surge protectors manufactured in China and the Philippines.
According to the company, the surge protectors can overheat, smoke and melt, posting a fire and burn hazard to consumers. Schneider says that it has received 700 separate reports of the surge protectors overheating and melting, including 55 claims of property damage from smoke and fire. In addition, there have been 13 reports of injuries, including smoke inhalation and contact burns from touching overheated surge protectors.
The surge protectors affected by this recall were sold at Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA and other stores nationwide from January 1993 through December 2002 for between $13 and $50.
