Fire extinguisher manufacturer Walter Kidde Portable Equipment has been ordered to pay a $12 million civil penalty following allegations that the company failed to inform the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) of product defects in a timely manner.
Based in Mebane, N.C., Kidde agreed to the civil penalty and other terms as part of a consent decree entered by a federal judge.
The allegations stem from a 2017 recall of Kidde fire extinguisher. According to the recall, the extinguishers could become clogged or require excessive force to discharge, fail to activate during a fire emergency, and some nozzles even fell off.
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