Perhaps the last thing that people need to worry about after a year as tumultuous as 2020 is a ceiling fan blade flying across the room. However, a handful of consumers had dealt with that very problem beginning no earlier than April 2020. The New York Times and other news organizations reported on a ceiling fan recall that was issued two days before Christmas. On Dec. 23, King of Fans, Inc. announced the recall of the "Hampton Bay 54-inch Mara Indoor/Outdoor Ceiling Fans" product line. The recalled ceiling fans were sold exclusively by The Home Depot.
The New York Times reported that there had been at least 47 consumer reports of the product dangerously malfunctioning:
There have been 47 reports of blades detaching from the fans. Two of those episodes involved the detached blades hitting people, and there have been four reports of the blades causing property damage.
It was unclear if the people hit by the blades had been injured.
"We're committed to the safety and quality of our products so we contacted the Consumer Product Safety Commission and voluntarily recalled the product and stopped sales when we discovered the issue," a Home Depot spokeswoman, Christina Cornell, said.
Recalled models of the ceiling fans sold at The Home Depot included the Matte White Ceiling Fans with Light and Remote Control (Model #51918), Matte Black Ceiling Fan with Light and Remote Control (Model #51919), Black Ceiling Fan with Light and Remote Control - Online Only (Model #59919), and Polished Nickel Ceiling Fan with Light and Remote Control - Online Only (Model #51918). Model #51913 was also mentioned in the recall, although King of Fans and The Home Depot did not include a description of the fan.
On the King of Fans website, (which we noticed still used Adobe Flash Player), the company posted the following message:
King of Fans and The Home Depot
Important Safety Notice
December 23, 2020
Dear Valued Customer,
The Hampton Bay 54 in. Mara Indoor/Outdoor ceiling fans are being voluntarily recalled in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada. There have been consumer reports that the fan blades on the Hampton Bay 54 in. Mara Indoor/Outdoor Ceiling Fan may detach due to an isolated manufacturing defect with the assembly of the fan blade's locking clip to the fan flywheel, where one of the two screws retaining the locking clip is not adequately secured to the flywheel. If this occurs, the blade may detach from the fan during use, posing an injury hazard. Please note that this issue does not affect all Mara 54 in. ceiling fans. To determine if your ceiling fan is impacted, please see instructions on the following page. If you determine that your Mara 54 in. ceiling fan is affected by this recall based on your inspection on page 2, or if you have any questions about the inspection, please discontinue use of the fan and contact us toll-free at 1-866-443-1291, Monday through Friday between 9 AM and 5 PM EST, via e-mail at MaraRecall@kingoffans.com, or visit us online at www.kingoffans.com/MaraRecall.htm. You can also scan the QR code with your smart phone.
On behalf of King of Fans and The Home Depot, we apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused you. We take pride in the quality of our products, and the safety of our customers is our priority.
Sincerely,
King of Fans, Inc.
King of Fans also mentioned that the specific ceiling fan line that was recalled "was sold exclusively at The Home Depot and online at www.homedepot.com from April 2020 through October 2020 for approximately $150."
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, about 182,000 units were sold in the U.S., while an additional 8,800 were sold in Canada.