(Bloomberg) -- Samsung Electronics Co. is recalling more than 1.1 million electric stoves sold in the US since 2013, following reports of 250 fires that damaged property, killed pets and injured about 40 people.
South Korea’s largest company is offering free locks and covers to buyers of more than a dozen stove models, which help ensure their front-mounted range knobs stay in the “off” position, according to a notice posted on the US Consumer Product Safety Commission’s website. Samsung sold the stoves through retailers from Best Buy to Costco nationwide for between $1,250 and $3,050, the notice read.
Samsung confirmed the remedies and sales details in a statement that didn’t mention fires or injuries. The issue with front-mounted knobs is industry-wide and Samsung is working with the commission and other major brands to address safety standards, a company spokesperson said. The Korean company plans only to offer the bolt-on fixes, not refunds or exchanges, according to the spokesperson.
Consumer brands the world over are familiar with product recalls. Samsung itself undertook one of the largest recalls ever in the technology industry in 2016, when it pulled the plug on a line of fire-prone Galaxy Note phones.
(Updates with Samsung’s comment from the third paragraph)
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