Fiesta issues safety alert for Blue Ember gas grills

Earlier this month, Fiesta, which makes Blue Ember gas grills—including the FG50069 model we rated a CR Best Buy—posted a safety warning on its Web site about potential fire hazards that could result if these grills are improperly assembled. If the hose that carries gas to the burners is routed behind instead of in front of the heat shield, the hoses could melt, posing a fire hazard. According to the manufacturer, there has been one incident of a grill fire resulting from an improper assembly, which caused some minor property damage.

While no recall has been issued, the company's Web site warns consumers of the hazards of improperly assembling Blue Ember grills and gives clear, illustrated instructions on properly routing the burner hose. Fiesta has also made design changes that reduce the risk of incorrect assembly and will ship all Blue Ember models with notices alerting consumers to the importance of routing the burner hose correctly.

Fiesta told us that they discovered problems with Blue Ember grills that were incorrectly put together by a retailer, but said they don't know of any incidents where consumers made the same mistake. But we do. An engineer who formerly tested grills for Consumer Reports, bought a Blue Ember grill model FG50069 earlier this year. He reported to us that, "if you put this grill together as per the instructions, the gas hose could easily drape in the wrong place, melt and start a fire." And his did. "The hose completely melted shooting flames up into the firebox." He said: "I checked and rechecked the instructions but couldn't find anything that warned about hose placement." When he returned the grill for a replacement, he discovered that the new grill and instructions had been changed to address the risk of incorrect assembly. But if an engineer who has assembled and tested more than 100 grills can get it wrong, what about those of us doing it for our first time?

Fiesta asked us to help get the word out to consumers who may have improperly assembled Blue Ember grills, which we are happy to do. But we think the Consumer Product Safety Commission should issue a public Safety Alert to ensure that the word gets spread well beyond our readership. We also think that retailers who sell Blue Ember grills should post notices at the point-of-purchase that would alert consumers to this safety issue. Fiesta should try to reach all the Blue Ember owners in their database to make sure they get the message. They told us that they will mail out notices within a week.

If you have experienced problems with gas grill fires or other safety issues, please comment on this posting. You can report any product safety problem through the link on this site. The information you share may prevent serious injuries and will help us accomplish our mission of reducing the number of unsafe products on the marketplace. —Don Mays