North Carolina Product Liability Lawyer & Attorney : D. Hardison Wood : Toy Safety, Child Restraint, Car Seats

There has been yet another car recall because of a threat of fire. This time it involves GM Buick Regals and Pontiacs.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — General Motors has recalled 207,542 1997-2003 Buick Regal GS and Pontiac Grand Prix GTP models with 3.8-liter supercharged V6 engines over a risk that they could catch fire. The recall includes a strong warning not to park the vehicles "in a garage, carport or other structure" to avoid the risk of fire.

"Certain underhood fires may be caused by drops of engine oil being deposited on the exhaust manifold through hard braking," says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the recalls summary on its Web site. "If the manifold is hot enough and the oil runs below the heat shield, it may ignite into a small flame and, in some instances, spread to the plastic spark plug wire channel." Other documentation adds that "most cases have occurred five to 10 minutes after the vehicle has been turned off."

The NHTSA reports that the problem has caused 267 fires to date and six injuries, five of which are minor. There are no fatalities associated with the problem. Read more

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We have been hearing about and have been contacted about  car fires. Now it appears the government is investigating fires in certain GM SUVs.

The government is investigating reports of engine fires in General Motors’ full-size sport utility vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has received two reports of fires on 2007 model year Chevrolet Tahoe SUVs.
Both reports allege that the vehicles were parked in a home garage with the engine shut off when the fires occurred, causing significant property damage.
The investigation, which also includes the 2007 GMC Yukon SUV, involves about 423,000 SUVs. Read the article

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Something we may not link commonly link together are upholstered furniture and home fires. However, home fires involving upholstered furniture can spread more quickly. The CPSC took action on this very fact and issued the following statement:

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted unanimously (2-0) to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) on a new mandatory standard to address residential upholstered furniture fires.

The goal of the proposed standard is to prevent ignition or slow the spread and intensity of upholstered furniture fires. These fires cost the U.S. about $1.6 billion each year. CPSC staff estimates the proposed standard, once fully effective, would prevent an estimated 100 deaths and 130 injuries every year.

“Fires involving upholstered furniture are a leading cause of fire-related deaths in U.S. homes,” said CPSC Acting Chairman Nancy Nord. “Stopping a furniture fire in its tracks or slowing its spread would buy consumers precious time to get out of their homes.”

Under the proposal, manufacturers could meet the performance standard by using smolder-resistant cover fabrics or interior fire resistant barriers to protect the furniture’s internal filling material which is the primary fuel in an upholstered furniture fire.

The CPSC’s objective is to reduce the fire risk in upholstered furniture without requiring the use of fire retardant chemicals. Manufacturers will not be required to use chemicals to meet the proposed standard. In its environmental assessment, CPSC staff projects most manufacturers and importers would likely choose options that do not involve fire- retardants in fabrics or filling materials.

“CPSC is now on track to develop a mandatory safety rule that will save lives and protect consumers,” added Acting Chairman Nord.

An NPR is the second step in the agency’s three step rulemaking process.

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