Montgomery County Fire Rescue Services (MCFRS) were alerted to an outside fire on the 51000 block of Fairglen Lane in Bethesda Chevy Chase on the evening of April 18.
When responders arrived at the scene, they found a small fire outside a single-family home. MCFRS was able to extinguish the fire swiftly with no injuries sustained.
Responders noted the fire involved an electrical box attached to the house. The SUPCO surge protector installed had failed.
SUPCO issued a recall of the surge protectors in 2019 after the faulty models resulted in five house fires in Cary, NC. The recalled models are identified as Type 2’s, SUPCO Model SCM150 and Sycom Model SYC‑120/240-T2.
The devices, manufactured by Sycom Surge, Inc., were sold between 2010 and 2014. They had a three-year warranty, which has since expired.
UL, a global safety consulting and certification company, deemed the surge protectors to be a fire hazard in 2016.
The no-cost exchange offer by SUPCO has expired, but homeowners should still check and replace surge protectors of this variety.
Update – Fairglen Lane, exterior electrical fire, @MontgomeryCoMD @mcfrs responded, fire involved electrical box attached to house, NOTE: surge protectors have a recall (for fires) https://t.co/ih7SoLHefV pic.twitter.com/OXBsZnPQ5z
— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) April 28, 2022
