CPSC, Thomas & Betts Announce Recall of Emergency Exit Signs
Home product recall 03-520. Announced by CPSC on Feb 5, 2003.
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The short answer
Announced by CPSC on Feb 5, 2003. Copied from CPSC on Oct 19, 2026.
Every line below is in CPSC’s own words, with its source beside it.
What’s wrong with it?
The emergency exit signs have an internal electrical component that could overheat and fail, when connected to 277-volt electrical systems, and melt the enclosure, posing a fire hazard.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
What should you do?
Building managers with recalled emergency exit signs should contact Thomas & Betts to request a free repair kit.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
- How to reach the firm: Building managers with recalled emergency exit signs should contact Thomas & Betts toll-free at (800) 991-8010 between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or online at www.lightalarms.com, www.emergi-lite.com, and www.dynaray.tnb-canada.com
Which ones are recalled?
The recalled exit signs were sold under the Lightalarms, Emergi-Lite, and Dynaray brand names and can be installed in either 120-volt or 277-volt applications. Only signs with a red LED and installed in 277-volt applications need to be repaired. These emergency exit signs could be installed in public buildings such as schools, offices and shopping centers to mark an exit in the event of a power failure and loss of lighting. They have a white or black plastic housing and are 13 ½ inches long, 8-3/8 inches high and 2-7/8 inches deep. Recalled units have a raised bead around the edge of the front face and a rectangular rocker switch on the bottom. The product make, model, and date code is located on a label inside the enclosure. The recalled emergency exit signs were manufactured between January 1997 and June 1999.
About 31,000 units, as CPSC gives them.
Emergency Exit Signs.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
CPSC’s photos
CPSC shows 1 photo on its notice. Hearth Record doesn’t copy them; each opens on cpsc.gov.
Who made and sold it?
- Distributed by Thomas & Betts Corporation, Memphis, TN.
- The emergency exit signs were sold nationwide by electrical wholesalers and distributors for between $75 and $80.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
Was anyone hurt?
There have been 19 reports of these emergency exit signs overheating and smoking or causing melted or damaged enclosures. No injuries have been reported.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
What the record doesn’t say
- The notice lists no UPCs, so check the model, the description and the photos.
- The notice lists no model numbers in a field of their own; its description may give them.
- How many have been returned or fixed isn’t in the notice.
Hearth Record wrote these lines.
Sources
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U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Recalls API.
Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily. Public domain (U.S. Government work). CPSC asks to be credited, and that no endorsement be implied.
Recalls of kids’ and home products are from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). CPSC does not endorse Hearth Record. Copied on Oct 19, 2026.