A possible burn hazard has prompted the recall of 19,000 Honeywell Surround Select Portable Electric Heaters. The voluntary space heater recall was announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in conjunction with the product’s distributor, Kaz USA  Inc. of Southborough, Massachusetts. The portable heaters are manufactured in China. According to the recall notice, a manufacturing defect can cause the heater’s fan or heating element to detach and burn consumers.

The defective Honeywell heaters were sold at Walmart, Meijer and Best Buy stores through December 2011. If you purchased one of these heaters, you should unplug and stop using it immediately. Consumers can contact Kaz for a full refund. While no serious burn injuries connected to the use of the Honeywell heater have been reported to date, portable space heaters are the leading cause of home fires and are responsible for 79% of all fire-related deaths, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. Portable electric heaters also pose a risk of electric shock and electrocution.

In 1981, a space-heater fire killed 11 children East St. Louis. Earlier this month, 8 children barely escaped when a fire started by a space heater destroyed their north St. Louis County home. In 2009, space heaters were responsible for 58,900 home fires that killed 480 people and injured another 1,520, according to a 2011 National Fire Protection Association report.

If you have been injured by a space heater or space-heater caused fire, contact the Missouri product injury attorney at Hoffman & Gelfman.