The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that more than 255,000 Vornado tower heaters have been recalled after the agency received reports of overheating, house fires, and at least one smoke inhalation incident. The China-manufactured heaters were sold at major retailers including Costco, Kohl's, ACE Hardware, and Amazon.com over a sales window stretching from August 2013 through May 2026, more than a dozen years on store shelves and in American homes.
That is not a typo. A product with a known fire defect was apparently available for purchase across brick-and-mortar stores and online marketplaces for roughly thirteen years before the federal recall came down.
The CPSC said the problem centers on the heater's fan blade, which can detach from the motor shaft. When that happens, the fan stops spinning, and the unit overheats. Internal parts melt. And if the thermal cutoff or fuse fails to activate in time, those melted components can ignite and burn through the outer enclosure. In plain terms: the heater can catch fire inside your home.
Vornado received 32 reports of overheating tied to the recalled units, the New York Post reported. Among those 32 incidents were eight fires and one case of smoke inhalation. The CPSC did not disclose whether the eight fires caused property damage or how severe the smoke inhalation injury was. No deaths have been reported in connection with the recall.
But eight house fires linked to a $40-to-$50 appliance sold by the quarter-million should concern every consumer who bought one, and every regulator who let it stay on the market this long.
The recalled space heaters were available at Kohl's, Bed Bath & Beyond, ACE Hardware, Vornado.com, and Amazon.com from August 2013 through May 2026, priced between $40 and $50. Costco sent a separate letter to its members identifying the specific unit it carried, the Vornado SRTH small room tower heater, item number 1002889, UPC 43765008478, and noted that Costco sold the product between August 2013 and January 2017.
Costco's member letter laid out the hazard in blunt terms:
"The fan blade can detach from the motor shaft, which can cause a stopped fan condition, leading to overheating and melting of the enclosure and internal parts. Melted internal parts can ignite and breach the enclosure if the thermal cut off or fuse does not timely activate, posing a fire hazard."
That language came directly from Costco's notice to customers. The CPSC echoed the same description of the defect in its own announcement.
The CPSC urged anyone who owns one of the recalled Vornado tower heaters to stop using it immediately. Consumers should contact the Vornado Recall Team at 888-240-2768. The agency did not specify what remedy Vornado is offering, whether a refund, replacement, or repair, and that gap is worth watching.
The heaters were manufactured in China. No specific model numbers beyond the Costco-sold "SRTH" designation were detailed in the recall announcement, which raises a practical question for consumers who bought the heater at other retailers: how do they confirm whether their specific unit is covered? Checking the item number, UPC, and contacting Vornado directly appears to be the only clear path.
The timeline here deserves scrutiny. A product that went on sale in August 2013 was still being sold through May 2026. That is nearly thirteen years of continuous retail availability. During that span, Vornado accumulated 32 overheating complaints, including eight fires. How many of those reports came in years ago? How long did Vornado and the CPSC know about the fan blade defect before the recall was issued? The available facts do not answer those questions.
What we do know is that the recall covers more than a quarter-million units. That is a large installed base of heaters sitting in bedrooms, offices, and living rooms across the country, many of them purchased years ago by consumers who may not follow recall notices closely.
Space heaters are already one of the leading causes of home heating fires in the United States. A defective unit that can spontaneously ignite when its own safety mechanisms fail to activate is not a minor product flaw. It is a serious household danger, especially for families with children or elderly residents who may not react quickly to a fire.
Recalls like this one test whether the federal consumer safety apparatus works fast enough to protect ordinary Americans. The CPSC exists to catch exactly this kind of defect before it causes widespread harm. Eight house fires and a smoke inhalation injury later, the recall is finally here. Whether it came soon enough is a fair question taxpayers and consumers deserve answered.
Costco, to its credit, sent a direct letter to members. But Bed Bath & Beyond, which filed for bankruptcy and closed its stores in 2023, is listed as a retailer. Consumers who bought the heater there years ago have no store to return it to and may never see a recall notice. The same risk applies to anyone who picked one up on Amazon without registering the product.
If you own a Vornado tower heater, check the model and item number. Call the recall line. And unplug it until you do.
A quarter-million fire-prone heaters sold over thirteen years is not a success story for anyone, not for Vornado, not for the retailers, and certainly not for the agency whose job is to keep dangerous products off the shelves before the fires start.