Hearth Record

CPSC, Essex PB&R Announce Recall of Plus 10® Fire Escape Hoods

Home product recall 03-551. Announced by CPSC on Sep 8, 2003.

CPSC’s own notice, on cpsc.gov

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The short answer

Announced by CPSC on Sep 8, 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?

These fire escape hoods do not provide protection against certain chemical warfare agents (Sarin, Tabum and Soman), as previously claimed in marketing materials and on the firm’s Web site. The product can still be used as an escape filter hood in fire and smoke emergencies.

Source:

CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.

What should you do?

If consumers purchased the fire escape hood for protection against chemical warfare agents, they can return it to Essex PB&R Corp for a refund.

Source:

CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.

  • How to reach the firm: Essex PB&R Corp. at (800) 296-7587 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. CT Monday through Friday.

Which ones are recalled?

These fire escape hoods are sold as “Plus 10® Filter Breathing Unit.” The hoods are sealed inside foil bags with blue and white labels on them listing the product name and reading, in part, “It’s not just ten minutes of air. It’s a lifetime.” The foil bags are stored inside blue zippered nylon pouches.

2,000 units, as CPSC gives them.

Plus 10® Fire Escape Hoods.

Source:

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?

  • Made by Essex PB&R Corp., Edwardsville, Ill.
  • Web sites and independent distributors sold these fire escape hoods nationwide, from January 1993 through August 2003, for about $150.
  • Made in United States, as the notice gives it.
Source:

CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.

Was anyone hurt?

None reported.

Source:

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.
Source:

Hearth Record wrote these lines.

Sources

  • 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.

Source:

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.

How to read a record

Four things every record does, shown on an example record made up for this guide.

An example record, made up for this guide

An example nursing home

Made up for this guide: no real place is shown

Not fully inspected in over two years (CMS flag)

11 health citations at the latest inspection cycle

The state average is 14.3.

Source:

CMS, State and US Averages and Health Deficiencies. Released Oct 8, 2026. Updated monthly.

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