CNN
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Amid this year’s damaging hurricane season, with generators in demand, Generac Power Systems has recalled about 64,000 of its portable generators after more than two dozen reports of overheating, some of which resulted in severe burns, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a statement.
The Wisconsin company received more than two dozen reports, “of the generators overheating and pressurizing or expelling fuel when opened. At least three incidents resulted in severe burn injuries, the commission said.
The “recalled generators’ fuel tank can fail to vent adequately from the rollover valve, causing the gas tank to build up excess pressure and expel fuel when opened, posing fire and burn hazards,” the commission said. The group is advising people to immediately stop using the recalled generators and contact Generac for a free repair kit.
CNN has reached out to Generac for comment.
The generators in question were sold “from April 2011 through June 2023 for between $3,300 and $3,650,” at most home improvement stores, the commission said.
The Thursday recall comes during hurricane season, when many people turn to generators in the aftermath of a storm to provide their homes with electricity.
This year’s hurricane season across the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea runs from June 1 to November 30. Tens of thousands of people are currently without power as post-tropical cyclone Lee continues to bring rain, wind and flooding to parts of Canada’s Atlantic provinces.
When Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Florida at the end of August, hundreds of thousands of people were left without power.
