Frigidaire Minifridge Recall Expanded to 964,000 Units

Curtis International, a Canada-based distributor of consumer appliances, announced an expansion of its recall for Frigidaire-branded minifridges on Thursday, bringing the total number of affected units in the United States to approximately 964,000. The move follows reports of fire hazards linked to the compact refrigerators, which were sold at major retailers including Target, Walmart and Amazon.

The latest recall adds 330,000 units of the model EFMIS121, a red six-can minifridge sold exclusively at Target stores and online from January 2020 through October 2023 for about $30 each. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the fridges pose a fire and burn risk because their internal electrical components can short-circuit and ignite the surrounding plastic housing. The commission has received six reports of these units catching fire, resulting in property damage but no injuries.

This expansion builds on a previous recall issued last July, which covered more than 634,000 minifridges with models EFMIS129, EFMIS137, EFMIS149 and EFMIS175. Those units, priced between $36 and $40 and sold at various retailers, were pulled due to the same electrical fault. At the time,...