Bernzomatic fire extinguishers
4 reports to CPSC, the latest made May 11, 2020. A report isn’t a recall.
Watch and the shortlist are kept with a free account, on every device. Your watch list. CPSC’s own search is on saferproducts.gov.
At a glance
From SaferProducts.gov, released Oct 25, 2026.
- 4reports to CPSC
- May 11, 2020the latest report was made
- Jun 12, 2012the earliest
- 3with the company’s comments
- Brand
- Bernzomatic
- Makers
- Worthington Cylinders and Newell Rubbermaid Inc.Makers, importers or sellers, as the reports name them
- Product
- Fire extinguishersCPSC’s product type: Fire Extinguishers (code 701), in Home Maintenance and Structures: Home Security
By month
The numbers, as a table
| Month | Reports |
|---|---|
| May 2020 | 1 |
| January 2016 | 1 |
| February 2013 | 1 |
| June 2012 | 1 |
How badly anyone was hurt
- Hurt, no treatment 1 CPSC: Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received
- No one hurt 2 CPSC: Incident, No Injury
- Not said 1 CPSC: Unspecified
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.
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Hurt, no treatment Made May 11, 2020, sent to the company May 19, 2020, published by CPSC Jun 3, 2020
The product, in the report: Bernzomatic Disposable foam fire extinguisher. Model FE18UL marked “1971
I was cleaning out my parents home and they had a similar product to what is listed on this recall...but this version was NOT listed.
[REDACTED]
The article states:
[REDACTED]
and:
[REDACTED]
[REDACTED]
I have/had a 1971 version of that extinguisher that was NOT mentioned on the recall. It has/had a “1971” printed on it, not 1970.
Since it was NOT on the recall list I did not dispose of ours. Unfortunately it exploded last week and caused some damage (also made a massive mess) and most significantly left my wife stunned and with her ears ringing and her clothes ...and she was in a different room, but close by. Her ears were ringing for some time and we had to re-wash clothes and clean up the big mess.
If anyone was in the room they could have been very seriously injured. When it ruptured it dented a heavy duty stainless trashcan and broke a protective cover to our water heater (near the floor.
The weather that day was mild and it exploded without warning.
- Model
- It is model FE18UL, marked “1971”.
- Bought
- May 1, 1971, about then
- Where
- Rancho Palos Verdes, California: Home/
Apartment/ Condominium - Who was involved
- Age 55, Female
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Unspecified
- As this report names them
- Brand Bernzomatic, made or sold by Worthington Cylinders
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received
-
No one hurt Made Jan 12, 2016, sent to the company Jan 21, 2016, published by CPSC Feb 9, 2016
The product, in the report: Red, Bernzomatic Fire Extinguisher
I have a Benzomatic fire extinguisher and I had sitting on the kitchen counter to find out how to dispose of it since it was old and one night it exploded. The bottom blew right off and the canister was split open. You could see where it hit the ceiling and bounced out into the family room. It knocked over and broke some canisters on the counter and blew the Easter basket that was sitting on the table beside of it out into the family room, breaking the basket and the DVDs in it.
- Model
- Bernzomatic
- UPC
- NONE
- Serial number
- FE18UL
- Bought from
- DONT KNOW
- Bought
- Jan 1, 1971, about then
- Where
- Medina,, Ohio: Home/
Apartment/ Condominium - Who was involved
- Age 63, Female
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Self
- As this report names them
- Brand Bernzomatic, made or sold by Worthington Cylinders
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Incident, No Injury
-
No one hurt Made Feb 11, 2013, sent to the company Feb 20, 2013, published by CPSC Mar 7, 2013
The product, in the report: Bernzomatic Foam fire extinguisher
The Bernzomatic foam fire extinguisher blew up in the kitchen and went through the wall into the hallway. It sounded like a shotgun blast. The bottom of the extinguisher had blown off. It caused lots of damage to the interior wall.
- Model
- FE18UL
- Bought
- Jan 1, 1972, about then
- Where
- Cinebar, Washington: Home/
Apartment/ Condominium - Who was involved
- Age 88, Male
- The reporter’s relation to them
- My Parent
- As this report names them
- Brand Bernzomatic, made or sold by Worthington Cylinders
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Incident, No Injury
-
Not said Made Jun 12, 2012, sent to the company Jul 23, 2012, published by CPSC Jul 6, 2012
The product, in the report: 1971 Bernzomatic Fire Extinguisher
1971 Bernzomatic Fire Extinguisher exploded in my house. Took out a chunk of the drywall ceiling. Fortunately no one was in the kitchen and the time so there were no injuries.
We purchased our current home in 2001 from a lady who built it in the 1970s and the extinguisher was already there. We had changed out refrigerators twice but never changed the fire extinguisher and just kept it on top of the refrigerator.
After it exploded I researched the model and found it had been recalled decades ago. I always thought the danger to old fire extinguishers were that it could lose its charge and never knew they could explode.
- Model
- 1971 Bernzomatic Fire Extinguisher
- Where
- Tallahassee, Florida: Home/
Apartment/ Condominium - Who was involved
- Unspecified
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Unspecified
- As this report names them
- Brand Bernzomatic, made or sold by Newell Rubbermaid Inc.
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Unspecified
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
Sources
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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.