Kidde, First Alert smoke alarm class action claims products fail to detect smoldering fires

Kidde and First Alert class action overview:

• Who: Plaintiffs Michael Stapelman and Tammie Hays filed a class action lawsuit against Walter Kidde Portable Equipment LLC d/b/a Kidde Safety Equipment and BRK Brands Inc. d/b/a First Alert.
• Why: Stapelman and Hays claim the companies falsely advertised their smoke alarms as being able to provide timely warnings of smoldering fires.
• Where: The Kidde and First Alert class action lawsuit was filed in Washington federal court.

Smoke alarms manufactured by Walter Kidde Portable Equipment and BRK Brands are not capable of providing timely warnings of smoldering fires, according to a new class action lawsuit.

Plaintiffs Michael Stapelman and Tammie Hays claim the companies falsely advertised their smoke alarms as being able to detect smoldering fires in a timely fashion.

“Despite knowing for decades that ionization-only devices do not timely warn of smoldering fires, defendants continued to sell millions of ionization-only devices annually to consumers in Washington and throughout the United States,” the Kidde smoke alarm class action lawsuit says.

Stapelman and Hays argue the companies’ smoke alarms are “technologically unsuited” for providing timely warnings of smoldering fires and fail to provide timely warnings in real-world settings.

The plaintiffs want to represent a nationwide class and Washington subclass of consumers who purchased a product with ionization technology as its only means of detecting smoke or fire that was made, marketed, distributed and/or sold by Kidde or First Alert and labeled as a smoke alarm.

Kidde, First Alert allegedly violate state consumer law

Stapelman and Hays argue smoke alarms with ionization technology do not provide timely warnings of smoldering fires, which they claim are a common and deadly type of residential fire.

“Ionization-only devices do not sound or sound too late, often when an initially smoldering fire is in the process of transitioning or has already progressed to a hot, flaming fire,” the smoke alarm class action lawsuit says.

Stapelman and Hays claim Kidde and First Alert are guilty of breach of express warranty, negligent misrepresentation, intentional misrepresentation and unjust enrichment and of violating the Washington Consumer Protection Act.

The plaintiffs demand a jury trial and request declaratory and injunctive relief and an award of compensatory, statutory, exemplary and punitive damages for themselves and all class members.

In 2023, consumers sued Kidde and First Alert for the same reason of selling ionization smoke alarms that only sense flames and related heat but do not detect smoke. 

Have you ever purchased a smoke alarm from Kidde or First Alert? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Michael K. Ross of Aegis Law Group LLP, Sean Eskovitz of Eskovitz Law LLP and Martin Woodward and Scott Kitner of Kitner Woodward PLLC.

The Kidde and First Alert smoke alarm class action lawsuit is Stapelman, et al. v. Walter Kidde Portable Equipment LLC, et al., Case No. 2:25-cv-02413, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

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