Safety officials told owners to stop using a tabletop fire pit that can shoot flames

Federal product-safety regulators have issued a blunt warning to owners of a popular style of alcohol-burning tabletop fire pit: stop using it and throw it away. The alert, aimed at a line of decorative fire pits sold widely online, centers on a hazard that can turn a small tabletop flame into a burst of fire launched across a room. The agency issued the warning in mid-July 2026 after tallying dozens of incident reports and multiple serious burn injuries.

The devices in question are the kind of sleek, portable fire features that have become common on patios and dinner tables, marketed as ambient decor rather than heating appliances. They burn liquid fuel poured directly into an open container, and it is that basic design, safety officials say, that makes them dangerous in ways buyers may not anticipate.

The Houswise warning and what triggered it

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission directed the alert at Houswise-brand tabletop fire pits, sold in models named Vesper, Altair, Quad and Astra. In its official warning, dated July 16, 2026, the commission said it was aware of more than two dozen reports of flame jetting, fuel leaking outside the fire pit and unexpectedly high flames, resulting in seven injuries including third-degree burns. The agency estimated that at least 53,500 of the units were sold.

Notably, the commission described this as a unilateral warning rather than a negotiated recall. According to the alert, Furmia LLC, the manufacturer of the Houswise fire pits, had not agreed to recall the products or offer any remedy to consumers. That is why the agency’s guidance is not to return the product for a refund or repair but simply to stop using it and dispose of it safely, and to avoid selling or giving it away.

How flame jetting turns a small fire into an explosion

The core hazard has a specific name: flame jetting. It occurs when a person refills a fire pit that still has a flame burning, one that can be nearly invisible in daylight. As the fuel is poured, vapor inside the fuel container can ignite, causing a small explosion that propels burning liquid and a jet of flame outward toward the person pouring and anyone nearby. The commission has published a demonstration video showing how far those flames can travel.

A second, related danger is the uncontrolled pool fire. These fire pits require the user to pour liquid fuel into an open reservoir and light it in the same spot. Isopropyl alcohol, ethanol and similar fuels burn at temperatures above 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit and can cause third-degree burns in less than a second, and igniting a pool of that fuel can suddenly produce larger, hotter flames that spread beyond the device. Because the fuel is liquid and exposed, a spill or an overfill can carry the fire well past the fire pit’s rim.

A pattern the CPSC has been tracking

The Houswise alert is not an isolated case but the latest in a series targeting the same category of product. The warning explicitly follows an earlier agency consumer alert urging people to stop using alcohol and other liquid-burning fire pits that violate voluntary safety standards, an alert issued after two deaths and dozens of serious burn injuries were linked to the broader product type.

That history matters because it reframes the problem from a single bad batch to a design flaw shared across many brands. The open-reservoir, pour-and-ignite approach is inherently prone to both flame jetting and pool fires, which is why regulators have moved against multiple manufacturers rather than a single company. Consumers who own similar liquid-fuel tabletop fire pits from other brands, not just the models named in this warning, are encountering the same underlying risk.

What owners can do and where to report incidents

The commission’s practical guidance is straightforward: owners should stop using the affected fire pits immediately and dispose of them so no one else can use them. Because the manufacturer offered no remedy, there is no refund or replacement to claim in this particular case, which makes the disposal instruction the entire recommended action rather than one step in a return process.

People who have experienced an incident with one of these products, or with any consumer product, can file a report with the government. The commission maintains a public database and reporting portal at SaferProducts.gov, where injuries and defects are logged and can inform future action. Shoppers can also monitor the agency’s continually updated recalls and safety warnings page to check whether a product they own has been flagged.

The broader takeaway from the sequence of alerts is that a product’s decorative, low-key appearance is no guarantee of safety. A tabletop fire pit that burns loose liquid fuel carries risks closer to those of an open fuel container than a candle, and regulators have now repeatedly urged consumers to treat the entire category with corresponding caution.

This article was researched and drafted with the assistance of AI and reviewed before publication.

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