Costco recalls umbrellas for fire, burn hazards

Costco has recalled over 400,000 umbrellas from the U.S. and Canada after several units overheated and caught fire, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says.

The recall was issued last Thursday in response to six reports of lithium-ion batteries overheating, five of which led to fires. One also led to a smoke inhalation injury.

Three of the fires resulted from the solar panel catching fire while charging with an AC adapter indoors. Two fires happened while the panel was attached to the umbrella.

“Consumers should immediately stop using the umbrellas, remove the solar panel puck containing a lithium-ion battery from the top of the umbrella, store the puck out of the sun and away from combustible material, and do not charge the puck with the AC adapter,” CPSC says.

Costco and SunVilla, the corporation that imported the umbrellas from China, are reaching out to all known purchasers of the product.

Purchasers have been promised a full refund.

Costo describes the “10’ Solar LED Market Umbrella” as an umbrella with LED lights powered by a solar panel battery puck.

Units were sold from December 2020 to May 2022 at Costco warehouses and online.

More information can be found on the CPSC website, and questions can be submitted to SunVilla at this link.