Federal safety regulators are telling consumers to immediately stop using Lakkzoom immersion water heaters, cheap plug-in devices sold on Amazon and eBay that have been tied to 235 fires since late 2022. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Department of Justice took the rare step of filing an imminent hazard complaint in federal court against the Chinese manufacturer and its retail partner, marking the first time the agency has used its Section 12 emergency authority in nearly 40 years. Roughly 98,000 units reached American households before the action was filed.
A dormant enforcement power reactivated by online sales
The CPSC’s decision to invoke Section 12 of the Consumer Product Safety Act signals how seriously the agency views the threat. Section 12 allows regulators to bypass the slower recall process and go directly to court when a product poses an imminent risk of death or serious injury. The agency had not used that power in nearly four decades, according to its Section 12 announcement. The fact that it did so now reflects a specific enforcement gap: the Lakkzoom heaters were shipped directly to consumers through online marketplaces, a distribution channel that largely sidesteps the port inspections and retailer vetting that traditionally catch dangerous imports before they reach store shelves.
Between September 2022 and July 2026, approximately 98,000 Lakkzoom units were sold in the United States. The 1500W and 2000W models can overheat and catch fire within minutes of use, the CPSC found after investigating incidents and testing the devices. That speed of ignition, combined with the sheer volume of units already in homes, appears to have pushed the agency past the threshold where a standard voluntary recall would suffice. A conventional recall depends on the manufacturer’s cooperation, and in this case the companies named in the lawsuit are based in China, complicating direct enforcement and making rapid court intervention more attractive to regulators.
The agency’s warning also underscores how e-commerce has changed product safety oversight. Many traditional consumer products pass through importers, distributors, and brick-and-mortar retailers that have established compliance programs. By contrast, Lakkzoom immersion heaters were sold in large numbers by a third-party seller that could quickly relist modified versions or shift storefront identities. For the CPSC, that combination of scale, speed, and limited leverage over foreign entities appears to have made Section 12 the only realistic tool to contain the risk.
235 fires, two Chinese firms, and a federal complaint
The Justice Department filed its complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia under the case caption United States v. Cixi Miaojie Electrical Appliance Co., Ltd. and Changsha Jiayi Tianzhuo Trading Co., Ltd., docketed as case number 1:26-cv-2572. According to the Justice Department release, the government alleges that the CPSC received 235 fire-related reports, investigated individual incidents, and conducted its own product testing before concluding the heaters present an imminent hazard. The complaint seeks mandatory relief to halt future imports and sales and to address the tens of thousands of units already in consumers’ hands.
The pace of incidents accelerated sharply. Court filings indicate that more than 137 of the 235 fire-related incidents were reported after September 2024, meaning well over half the known fires occurred in the final portion of the product’s sales window. That clustering suggests either that a growing installed base increased the odds of failure or that later production batches carried higher defect rates. The CPSC has not publicly broken down the data by batch or model variant, so the precise driver of the acceleration remains unclear, but regulators emphasize that the pattern is consistent with a systemic design or manufacturing flaw rather than isolated misuse.
Cixi Miaojie is identified as the manufacturer, while Changsha Jiayi Tianzhuo is named as the retailer that listed the products on Amazon and eBay. Neither company has made public statements in response to the federal complaint based on available filings. The complaint, referenced in the Justice Department’s public summary, lays out the government’s case that these heaters meet the statutory definition of an imminent hazard under the Consumer Product Safety Act by presenting a substantial likelihood of severe injury or death from fires that can ignite without warning during ordinary use.
Regulators describe the devices as particularly dangerous because they are marketed for everyday household tasks such as heating water in sinks, buckets, and small tubs. In many of the reported incidents, consumers appear to have left the heaters unattended for short periods, only to return to find scorched surfaces or active flames. The combination of high wattage, minimal safety controls, and direct contact with flammable surroundings led the CPSC to conclude that incremental warnings or labeling changes would not be enough to mitigate the risk.
What owners should do now
The CPSC’s directive is blunt: stop using any Lakkzoom immersion water heater immediately and dispose of it. In its formal consumer warning, the agency urges owners to unplug the devices, avoid attempting further operation, and follow local guidance for discarding small electrical appliances. The CPSC is not waiting for a formal recall negotiation with the manufacturers, and there is currently no announced remedy such as refunds or replacement products.
Consumers who have experienced a fire or other incident involving the product can file a report through the agency’s public database at SaferProducts.gov, which the CPSC is using to track additional cases and identify patterns. Homeowners and renters are also advised to check storage areas, garages, and utility closets where little-used appliances might be left plugged in or forgotten. Because the heaters were relatively inexpensive and often purchased for temporary or ad hoc uses, some owners may not immediately recall that they bought one.
Fire officials generally recommend that anyone who suspects damage from an electrical product contact local authorities or their insurance carrier before discarding evidence, particularly if a claim may be filed. The CPSC similarly encourages consumers to preserve documentation such as order confirmations, photos of the product and its packaging, and images of any damage, which can support both individual claims and broader enforcement efforts.
Unanswered questions and broader implications
Several questions remain open. The agency has not disclosed how many of the 235 fires resulted in injuries or deaths, though its warning explicitly references the risk of both. Detailed incident narratives, including property damage estimates and geographic distribution, have not been released publicly. The complaint’s language treats the hazard as established, but the underlying test data and engineering analysis have not been published for independent review, leaving outside experts to infer likely failure modes from limited descriptions.
There is also no indication yet of whether Amazon or eBay will face regulatory scrutiny for hosting the listings. Both platforms served as the primary U.S. distribution channels for roughly 98,000 units over nearly four years. The CPSC’s action targets the manufacturer and the third-party seller, not the marketplaces themselves, leaving unresolved whether platform-level screening obligations will change as a result of this case. Lawmakers and safety advocates have repeatedly questioned whether existing product safety laws adequately address the realities of cross-border, third-party online sales.
For consumers, the episode is a reminder that ultra-cheap, high-wattage electrical devices sold under unfamiliar brands can carry hidden risks, especially when they lack clear certification marks or robust instructions. Regulators typically advise checking for recognized safety labels, reading user reviews with an eye toward reports of overheating or melting, and avoiding devices that appear to cut corners on materials or design. Yet the Lakkzoom case illustrates that even vigilant shoppers may struggle to distinguish compliant products from hazardous ones in crowded online marketplaces.
For regulators, the case is a test of whether rarely used emergency powers can keep pace with globalized e-commerce. If the court grants the relief requested, it could reinforce Section 12 as a viable tool for rapidly removing dangerous imports from circulation, particularly when foreign manufacturers are unresponsive. If the outcome is slower or more limited, pressure may grow for Congress to revisit the Consumer Product Safety Act and clarify the responsibilities of platforms that profit from hosting third-party sellers.
In the meantime, the CPSC’s message is unambiguous: anyone who owns a Lakkzoom immersion water heater should treat it as a serious fire hazard, stop using it at once, and report any incidents. With hundreds of fires already tied to the product and tens of thousands of units still unaccounted for, regulators are racing to reach as many households as possible before the next one ignites.
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*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
