The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Galanz Americas Limited Company have announced a Galanz refrigerator safety recall covering about 121,680 retro-style refrigerators after internal electrical components were found to short circuit and ignite. The recall comes after 34 fire reports and one fatality tied to the product.
Consumers are being told to unplug the recalled refrigerators and stop using them immediately. The units were sold at Home Depot stores nationwide and online at Amazon.com for between $330 and $520, making the warning relevant to a large number of households that bought the appliances for their look as much as their function.
The refrigerators at the center of the recall are Galanz retro-style models sold in black, blue, red and white. They measure about 58 inches high, 24 inches deep and 21 inches wide, hold 7.6 cu. ft., and have either left-hand opening or right-hand opening doors with handles, three adjustable glass shelves and one drawer. The top freezer has a separate door, one drawer and Galanz printed on the front.
Only refrigerators with date codes from December 2018 through December 2020 and model numbers BCD-215V-62H, GLR76TRDER, GLR76TBKER, GLR76TBEER or GLR76TWEER are included. Galanz, the model number and the date code are printed on a white label on the upper left-hand corner on the back of the unit, which is how owners can check whether theirs is affected.
The sharp edge in this case is that the refrigerators were marketed as compact, colorful retro appliances, yet they are now linked to fire incidents serious enough to trigger a federal recall and a death report from a local fire department. That mix of style and danger is what makes the notice hard to ignore for anyone who bought one in recent years.
Galanz is offering free in-home repair by a qualified technician, and consumers are being told to contact the company to schedule the fix. The remaining question is how many of the recalled refrigerators are still sitting in kitchens, because the hazard does not end until those units are unplugged and repaired.
