SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20130715-A9BC0-1341095. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Product: Goal Zero Sherpa 120 (portable solar power sysyem with an ac adaptor, dc and usb port). Incident: (07/14/2013) The consumer stated that she was downstairs doing her dishes. She smelled something and you looked and saw smoke coming from her office. The consumer stated that she went into the office and saw smoke coming out of the battery pack which had been plugged in less than a hour. The consumer stated that she unplugged it and removed it from the office. The consumer stated that the product had melted and smoke was pouring out. The consumer stated that it set off the smoke alarms in the entire house. The consumer stated that as she was taking it out of the house, sparks came from the battery pack. The consumer stated that as she was taking the product up the stairs, black stuff was shooting out from the battery pack on to her walls. The consumer stated that she hosed the product down with water. The consumer stated that she called the fire department. The fire department came out and checked to make sure that there was nothing else in the room that could have caused the smoke. The fire department stated that the cause was the power pack. The consumer stated that saw on the manufacturers web site that the product had been discontinued. (07/15/2013) The consumer contacted the manufacturer. The consumer advised the representative (name unknown) of what had happened. The consumer asked the representative why there was not a recall. The consumer was advised by the representative that a mass email was sent out to the distributers. The consumer advised the representative that she talk to REI on 7/14/2013 and was told that they did not receive an email. The consumer asked the