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NEWS from CPSC

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Office of Information and Public Affairs

Washington, DC 20207

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CONTACT: Universal Recall Hotline: (800) 390-4321
May 25, 2000	CPSC Contact: Yolanda Fultz-Morris
Release # 00-115	(301) 504-0580 Ext. 1219

CPSC, Universal Security Instruments Announce Recall of Smoke Alarms

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Universal Security Instruments Inc., of Owings Mills, Md., is voluntarily recalling about 34,000 smoke alarms. The smoke alarms can fail to alarm when smoke or fire is present. A capacitor in the alarm can burn out, releasing smoke and melting the cover.

Universal has received three reports of alarms failing, releasing smoke. There has been one report of minor smoke damage to the wall of a mobile home. No injuries have been reported.

Consumers can identify the recalled models by removing the alarm cover from its base and looking for the manufacture date code and model number. The smoke alarms are made of white plastic and have the manufacture date code and model number imprinted on the back of the alarm.

Brand	Model Number	Description	Date Code
Safe T Alert	SA-785	AC only unit	BCSR
Universal	SS-785	AC unit only	BCSR
Universal	SS-795	AC/DC unit w/ battery backup	BESS
USI Electric	USI-1203	AC/DC unit w/ battery backup	BESS

Some alarms do not have the brand name printed on the unit. Consumers should look at the model number to determine if it is a recalled alarm.

Electrical distributors, housing suppliers, and hardware stores sold these smoke alarms nationwide from April 1998 through June 1999 for between $10 and $15. Most of these smoke alarms were pre-installed in homes during construction.

Consumers should call Universal Security Instruments Inc. toll- free at (800) 390-4321 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday to receive a free, replacement alarm.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission protects the public from the unreasonable risk of injury or death from 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, you can go to CPSC's forms page and use the first on-line form on that page. Or, you can call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270, or send the information to info@cpsc.gov. To order a press release through fax-on-demand, call (301) 504-0051 from the handset of your fax machine and enter the release number. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information from CPSC's web site at www.cpsc.gov or by calling the hotline or sending your request to info@cpsc.gov. You can also subscribe to CPSC's email subscription list which normally sends all press releases the day they are issued.

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