Metro Basics coffee makers and teapots, not electric

1 report to CPSC, the latest made Oct 24, 2012. A report isn’t a recall.

Watch it to hear when CPSC publishes new reports about it. CPSC’s own search

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At a glance

From SaferProducts.gov, released Oct 25, 2026.

1report to CPSC
Oct 24, 2012the latest report was made
Oct 24, 2012the earliest
1with the company’s comments

Brand: Metro Basics
Maker: METRO BASICS HOUSEWARE, LLCMakers, importers or sellers, as the reports name them
Product: Coffee makers and teapots, not electricCPSC’s product type: Unpowered Coffee Makers or Teapots (code 405), in Kitchen: Cookware & Tableware

By month

1 report from November 2011 to October 2012; the most in October 2012, 1.

The numbers, as a table

Reports to CPSC by the month each was made, newest first
Month	Reports
October 2012	1

How badly anyone was hurt

No one hurt 1 CPSC: Incident, No Injury

As each report says it, in short words; CPSC’s own words are under each.

The reports, as CPSC published them

Reports people made to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. CPSC publishes each one after sending it to the company named, and doesn’t guarantee they’re accurate. A report isn’t a recall.

Each report is the words of the person who made it, as CPSC published them. The company’s comments, where CPSC published any, are set apart as the company’s own.

CPSC, SaferProducts.gov public database export. Released Oct 25, 2026. Updated daily.

No one hurt
Made Oct 24, 2012, sent to the company Dec 28, 2012, published by CPSC Jan 14, 2013

The product, in the report: Non electric Metro Basics Six Cup Espresso Coffeemaker

Purchased Sunday, October 21st, 2012 then used it for first time Monday, October 22nd, 2012. Caller was in kitchen, coffeemaker was on stove when the handle caught fire. She is reporting as a severe fire hazard, citing that it she were not in the kitchen at that time then there could have been a fire with possible disastrous results. She returned product to store where purchased and where store sales representative laughed, asked her if she stuck in the fire, he didn’t offer for her to be able to bring it back.
She has not contacted manufacturer but does intend to contact them. There have been no injuries

Model
F50189-6 / non electric Espresso Coffeemaker
Bought from
A & B Discount Store, New York
Bought
Oct 21, 2012
Where
Brooklyn, New York: Home/Apartment/Condominium
Who was involved
Female
The reporter’s relation to them
Unspecified
As this report names them
Brand Metro Basics, made or sold by METRO BASICS HOUSEWARE, LLC
How badly, in CPSC’s words
Incident, No Injury

The company’s comments, in its own words

(1/15/2013) METRO BASICS HOUSEWARE, LLC: This letter is to address the complaint made under ReportId # 20121024-5E658-1280064. The end user had reported that the espresso coffeemaker (Model #F50189-6) was used on the stove and the handle caught fire. However, she did not specify the material of the handle. We would like to clarify that the handle is made of polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride, also known as Bakelite, and is commonly used in kitchen cookware and gadgets, particularly as handles. Bakelite is a common material in cookware handles due to its properties as an insulator, staying cool even during cooking. In some cases, it is compatible for oven use up to 180 oC. As for its fire resistance, Bakelite is the hardened product of the phenolic formaldehyde resin. Haberstroh and Schlumm stated in literature, “phenolic resins are noted for their outstanding fire properties”.1 Historically, Bakelite is also the first synthetic plastic. “Bakelite, as it was developed by Baekland in succeeding experiments, would not catch fire, melt or break”.2 Safety is our number one priority and as the importer for this product, this is the first time that we’ve had a complaint concerning this specific item. As with most cookware products, it is at the end user’s discretion how they proceed with operating the product. We believe that the end user may have used an excessively large flame on a gas stove rather than an electric induction stove or a controlled flame over a gas stove. This would greatly increase the chances that the Bakelite handle has direct contact with the open flame. As with any material, there is a certain temperature threshold that a product can withstand before it is morphed out of shaped or even destroyed. In addition, the end user stated that “if she were not in the kitchen at that time then there could have been a fire with possible disastrous results”. It is imperative for anyone who uses a stovetop product to never leave the cookware unattended since operating an open flame requires supervision. Currently, we are taking the proper procedures to ensure that future consumers are aware of the basics of proper kitchenware use in the form of a warning label. The warning label will advise the end user to use either an electric induction stove or a gas stove with a controlled flame. And advise against leaving the cookware unattended when it is being used. We hope that this, like the “Contents are Hot” for coffee cups, will act as sufficient notice to those unaware of the necessary precautions required for operating stovetop cookware. Although we would like to offer the end user a replacement, she has not yet contacted us.
References
1. Haberstroh, E., Schlumm, M. Journal of Polymer Engineering. Volume 26, Issue 2-4, Pages 213–226, ISSN (Online) 2191-0340, ISSN (Print) 0334-6447, DOI: 10.1515/POLYENG.2006.26.2-4.213, May 2011
2. Evans, Harold, Gail Buckland, and David Lefer. They Made America: From the Steam Engine to the Search Engine : Two Centuries of Innovators. New York: Little, Brown, 2004. Print.

CPSC report 20121024-5E658-1280064. Submitter: Consumer Search for it on SaferProducts.gov

CPSC’s disclaimer

Disclaimer: CPSC does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of the Publicly Available Consumer Product Safety Information Database on SaferProducts.gov, particularly with respect to information submitted by people outside of CPSC.

Word for word, from the disclaimer in CPSC’s export.

Sources

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, SaferProducts.gov public database export.

Released Oct 25, 2026 and checked Oct 25, 2026. Updated daily. Public domain (U.S. Government work). CPSC asks to be credited, and that no endorsement be implied.

Reports of harm are from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), on SaferProducts.gov. CPSC does not endorse Hearth Record.

Metro Basics coffee makers and teapots, not electric

At a glance

By month

How badly anyone was hurt

The reports, as CPSC published them

CPSC’s disclaimer

Sources

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