Samsung Recalls 1 Million Stoves That Pets Can Switch On—Igniting Hundreds Of Fires Since 2013

 

About 40 injuries have been reported because of the defect, including some that required medical attention.

Samsung has issued a voluntary recall for more than 1 million electric stoves equipped with knobs that can be activated by accidental contact, after hundreds of fires likely caused by the defect were reported over the last decade, resulting in property damage and dozens of injuries including pet deaths, U.S. regulators announced Thursday.

Key Facts

The recall covers some slide-in electric stoves with front-mounted knobs manufactured by Samsung between 2013 and 2024, which can be turned on through “accidental contact by people or pets,” the Consumer Product Safety Commission said.

Samsung has received over 300 reports of accidental activation by pets or humans since 2013, resulting in about 250 fires, 18 of which caused “extensive property damage,” according to the CPSC.

About 40 injuries have been reported, eight of which required medical attention, the CPSC said, adding there have been reports of seven fires that resulted in pet deaths.

The CPSC advised customers with the stoves to keep their children and pets away from the knobs until Samsung sends them a knob lock or cover, which customers can request for free online.

Samsung is developing new stoves with additional safety features for the front-facing knobs, the company said, noting some existing stoves can alert owners when a burner is activated.

Tangent

The Electrolux Group announced a recall for several Frigidaire and Kenmore electric stoves earlier this year, after the company received at least 212 reports of the stoves “behaving erratically.” The stoves’ surfaces can activate “spontaneously” without being turned on and could fail to turn off, the CPSC said. Electrolux said at least 14 fires were caused by the defect, in addition to eight reports of injuries involving burns to hands or arms.

Key Background

The CPSC held a meeting in June to discuss the potential dangers of front-facing knobs on stoves. The agency said it was “aware” of several incidents where houses burned, resulting in at least four deaths between January 2018 and May 2024 after the stoves were accidentally turned on by “people bumping into the knobs or pets” activating them. Those fires included both gas and electric stoves sold by 10 manufacturers, though they were not named, according to the agency. A day before that meeting, a dog at a home in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was reportedly caught on video turning on a stove in the middle of the night, igniting boxes on top of it.