Over the past few months, the CPSC has issued numerous recalls due to fire and burn hazards, including the massive recall of 355,000 Optimus Portable Infrared Radiant Quartz Electric Space Heaters. The heaters, which were sold at Best Buy Market Place and other retailers, feature a design that can fail to prevent ignition of nearby combustible materials that may come in contact with the unit.
Now, another product that was sold through Best Buy is being recalled due to fire and burn hazards. According to Macworld, approximately 5,100 ATG lithium-ion batteries are included in the recall because the battery can catch fire while charging. Recalled batteries were sold for about $50 between September 2008 and June 2012 on partstore.com and bestbuy.com. Consumers may have also received the product by mail through the Geek Squad Protection fulfillment at Best Buy.
Consumers should immediately stop use of the batteries as the CPSC reports that the manufacturer “has received 13 reports that the battery caught fire, including one report of a serious burn to a consumer’s leg.” Affected batteries include the ATG logo and were available in black and white colors with model numbers “MC-MBOOK13B” and “MC-BOOK13W,” respectively. The replacement batteries were used for Apple’s MacBook Pro laptops.
Best Buy issued the following statement to Gawker:
“After receiving reports from customers of these lithium ion batteries overheating when charging, we believe the right thing to do is to contact our customers and ask them to return the product for replacement or for a Best Buy gift card. While we are only one of many companies that may have sold these batteries, we feel they are a potential fire and burn hazard and want to keep our customers safe.”
Consumers should remove the battery from the computer and contact Best Buy for a replacement Apple brand battery or a $50 Best Buy gift card. The company can be reached toll-free at (888) 737-6954 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. CT daily or by email at bestbuypartexchange@decisionone.com.