SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20260129-9F05A-2147324077. Severity: No Incident, No Injury. Product: Makita (but not really) Makita BL1850B-2 18V 5.0Ah Lithium-Ion Batteries ( (This is a Makita 5 amp hour battery. Here is a link to the walmart product: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Makita-BL1850B-2-18V-5-0Ah-Lithium-Ion-Batteries-2-Pack/5326441427). Incident: My name is [REDACTED], and I own a landscaping company in Alabama called [REDACTED]. Our business uses Makita lithium-ion batteries to power professional landscaping equipment. In the summer of last year, I purchased multiple batteries through Walmarts website. The online listing advertised the batteries as Makita brand batteries. They were not advertised as compatible with Makita or third-party batteries. Based on the listing, I believed I was purchasing genuine Makita products. When the batteries arrived, they appeared authentic and looked nearly identical to real Makita batteries. There were no obvious signs that the products were counterfeit. A few months later, a serious safety incident occurred in our shop. One of the batteries suddenly exploded and caught fire. Fortunately, no one was injured. An employee was nearby and was able to extinguish the fire before it spread, but the incident created a major risk of injury and property damage. After the explosion, I contacted Makita to report the incident and request assistance. Makita has a team that investigates battery safety issues and examined the batteries we had in our possession. Makita informed me that some of the batteries were genuine Makita products, but others were not authentic and appeared to be counterfeit. Makita also showed us how to identify differences between real Makita batteries and counterfeit versions. After reviewing our purchase history, we traced the counterfeit batteries back to the Walmart online purchase. Makita also informed me that Walmart is not an authorized Makita battery dealer. I then c