SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20190118-265AC-1825982. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Product: Harbor Freight Tools 68287 (Cordless Drill). Incident: The consumer indicates that he charged the battery to his cordless drill for approximately forty-five minutes and then proceeded to install the battery. The consumer placed the drill on top of a hat that was sitting on a chair afterwards. About four hours later, the consumer woke up to the smell of burning wires. When the consumer checked around his home, he noticed that the drill had caught fire. The consumer quickly picked up the hat the drill was in and threw it on his front yard. Ten minutes later the consumer removed the battery from the drill; the consumer states that the drill was still hot. The consumer notes that the drill had a hole in it approximately one inch in diameter. The consumer states that the smell of burning wires still lingers in his home. The consumer indicates that he has another one of these drills in his vehicle that he has since removed the battery from in fear of another fire. The consumer indicates that, prior to the incident, the unit was used once or twice per month.