When a product designed to warm water becomes instead a source of flame, the social contract between manufacturer and consumer has been broken at its most fundamental level. The Justice Department's lawsuit against two Chinese firms over nearly 100,000 Lakkzoom immersion heaters — devices documented to ignite in bathtubs, pools, and garages across America — is an assertion that safety is not optional, and that borders do not absolve makers of dangerous goods from accountability. Since September 2024, more than 137 fires have marked the human cost of a missing safeguard, and now a federal court
DOJ sues Chinese firms over immersion heaters that catch fire within minutes
Over 137 fire incidents reported since September 2024; customers reported near-miss injuries including garage fires and bathtub ignition.
caught on fire and almost burned my garage down
Mark
Why does a water heater need an automatic shutoff at all? Isn't the user responsible for watching it?
Mimi
In theory, yes. But these devices get left unattended—someone fills a tub and steps away, or a pool heater runs overnight. The safety feature isn't about user error; it's about the device failing catastrophically when something goes wrong. A heater that ignites when it's out of water is a design flaw, not a user mistake.
Mark
So the Chinese companies knew about this risk and sold them anyway?
Mimi
The complaint doesn't allege they knew. It alleges they failed to include safety features that competitors already use. Whether that's negligence or willful blindness, the court will have to decide. But 98,000 units sold and 137 fires in less than a year suggests the problem wasn't rare or isolated.
Mark
Why is the DOJ involved instead of just the CPSC?
Mimi
The CPSC can investigate and issue warnings, but they can't force a recall without going to court. By filing suit jointly with the DOJ, they're using the full weight of federal enforcement. It sends a message that this isn't a regulatory suggestion—it's a legal demand.
Mark
What happens to people who already own these heaters?
Mimi
That's the point of the lawsuit. If the judge agrees, the companies would be ordered to recall them, likely offering refunds or replacements. But until that happens, the heaters are still in people's homes, still a fire risk.
Mark
Could this set a precedent for other imported products?
Mimi
Absolutely. If the government wins, it shows that imported goods won't get a pass just because they're cheap or come from overseas. It could make manufacturers think twice about cutting corners on safety.
Il Polso
- Nearly 100,000 immersion water heaters capable of catching fire within minutes remain in American homes, pools, and bathrooms right now.
- Over 235 complaints to federal regulators describe melted devices, bathtubs bursting into flame, and garage fires narrowly averted — a drumbeat of near-disasters that finally triggered legal action.
- The heaters' fatal flaw is an absence: no automatic shutoff, no temperature safeguard, nothing to interrupt the heating element when it loses contact with water or overheats.
- The Justice Department and CPSC are asking a federal judge to force a mandatory recall, bypassing the manufacturers entirely after the companies offered no voluntary compliance.
- If the government wins, the case could redefine how aggressively regulators pursue imported hazardous goods — and how seriously foreign suppliers weigh American safety standards before shipping.
When a product designed to warm water becomes instead a source of flame, the social contract between manufacturer and consumer has been broken at its most fundamental level. The Justice Department's lawsuit against two Chinese firms over nearly 100,000 Lakkzoom immersion heaters — devices documented to ignite in bathtubs, pools, and garages across America — is an assertion that safety is not optional, and that borders do not absolve makers of dangerous goods from accountability. Since September 2024, more than 137 fires have marked the human cost of a missing safeguard, and now a federal court is being asked to decide whether the law's reach is long enough to compel a remedy.
Federal prosecutors filed suit Wednesday against two Chinese manufacturers, seeking a court-ordered recall of nearly 100,000 Lakkzoom-brand immersion water heaters that have been linked to fires in homes and pools across the United States. The companies — Cixi Miaojie Electrical Appliance Co. and Changsha Jiayi Tianzhuo Trading Co. — have not responded to requests for comment.
The heaters' danger lies in what they were never built to include. Unlike competing products at comparable prices, Lakkzoom devices carry no automatic shutoff mechanism to cut power when the heating element leaves the water or reaches a critical temperature. The result is a device that can ignite whether submerged or not — and that has done so 137 documented times since September 2024 alone, with the CPSC logging more than 235 fire-related complaints in total.
The human texture of those numbers surfaces in individual accounts: a heater that nearly burned down a garage, a bathtub that caught fire, melted plastic and unexpected sparks in spaces where people bathe and relax. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stated plainly that the department would not allow dangerous products, regardless of their origin, to threaten American families.
The lawsuit invokes the Consumer Product Safety Act, which allows federal authorities to sue for mandatory recalls when voluntary action seems unlikely and the risk is too urgent to wait. Whether a judge agrees that the evidence compels such a remedy — without the manufacturers' consent — will determine not only the fate of these heaters, but potentially the standard by which imported goods are scrutinized before they reach American shelves.
On Wednesday, federal prosecutors in Washington filed suit against two Chinese manufacturers, seeking to pull nearly 100,000 defective water heaters from American homes and pools. The devices, sold under the brand name Lakkzoom, have a dangerous flaw: they can burst into flames within minutes of being switched on, sometimes while sitting in a bathtub or pool, sometimes when partially or completely removed from water.
The Justice Department and the Consumer Product Safety Commission are asking the court to mandate a full recall of the heaters made by Cixi Miaojie Electrical Appliance Co. and Changsha Jiayi Tianzhuo Trading Co. According to the complaint, the companies sold more than 98,000 units across the United States. Since September 2024 alone, there have been 137 documented fire incidents tied to the product. The CPSC has fielded over 235 fire-related complaints in total.
What makes these heaters particularly hazardous is what they lack. Competing immersion heaters at similar price points include automatic shutoff mechanisms that activate if the heating element loses contact with water or if the device reaches a dangerous temperature. The Lakkzoom heaters have no such safeguards. They can overheat and ignite whether they're sitting in water or not, a vulnerability that distinguishes them from safer alternatives already on the market.
The human toll emerges in the customer complaints filed with regulators. One person reported that their heater "caught on fire and almost burned my garage down." Another described watching their bathtub ignite. The complaints speak of melted devices and sparks—the kind of near-catastrophes that could have ended very differently. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche framed the enforcement action in stark terms: the department will not permit dangerous products, whether made in China or elsewhere, to reach American consumers and place families at risk of serious injury or death.
The lawsuit proceeds under the Consumer Product Safety Act, which grants federal authorities the power to sue manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers directly for mandatory recalls when products pose serious risks. It is a blunt instrument, designed for situations where voluntary compliance seems unlikely or where the danger is too immediate to wait. The companies have not yet responded to requests for comment.
What happens next will turn on whether a federal judge agrees that the evidence of danger is sufficient to compel a recall without the manufacturers' consent. If the government prevails, it could signal a willingness to pursue aggressive enforcement against imported goods that fail basic safety standards—a posture that may reshape how Chinese suppliers approach the American market, or at least how regulators scrutinize their products before they reach store shelves and bathroom cabinets.
Citazioni salienti
This caught on fire and almost burned my garage down— Customer complaint cited in court filing
The department will not allow dangerous products manufactured in China or elsewhere to flow to American consumers and expose unwitting families to the risk of serious injury or death— Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche
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Crime & Justice