Government Warns That Amazon Smoke Detector Doesn't Detect Smoke

It's a "dangerous piece of garbage."

Fire Sale

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), a federal watchdog, is warning customers that certain combination smoke and carbon monoxide detectors being sold on Amazon are absolutely terrible at alerting consumers that their homes are on fire.

In other words, the e-commerce giant is selling smoke detectors that can't reliably detect smoke — an astoundingly troubling finding that could put consumers at great risk.

The brand in question was selling the battery-powered safety devices for around $46 a pop, according to the CPSC. Fortunately, Amazon appears to have already intervened and a quick search on the platform of the brand now offers up no results.

Besides, the brand's letter salad name itself should've made anybody think twice about pulling the trigger.

"I'm positively shocked that a product made by the long-trusted, loyalty-inducing, stalwart brand 'BQQZHZ' turns out to be a dangerous piece of garbage,"quipped Consumer Reports investigative reporter Lauren Kirchner.

No Smoking

The incident demonstrates the very real risks Amazon exposes its customers to. Experts have long warned that the retailer has been selling thousands of banned and unsafe products, making it a dangerous flea market of mindboggling proportions.

A 2019 investigation by The Wall Street Journal found over 4,000 items for sale that had been declared unsafe, deceptively labeled, or outright banned. At least half of them were toys or medications that lacked the necessary warning labels.

In 2021, the CPSC sued Amazon in an attempt to stop it from allowing third parties of selling hazardous products to its customers. Among those products were children's pajamas that could catch on fire, hair dryers that could electrocute you if they were dropped in water — and, of course, dysfunctional carbon monoxide detectors.

As a response, Amazon simply removed the listings in question.

Unfortunately, the CPSC only has limited powers to order any recalls itself, and going to court is a costly endeavor.

But putting public pressure has already worked out for the watchdog as a strategy in the past. In 2021, fitness brand Peloton refused to recall its treadmills in light of reports that they could be dangerous to children.

After the CPSC released a graphic video of a child being sucked underneath a Peloton treadmill to up the pressure on the stationary bike brand, though, the company eventually gave in and ordered a recall.

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