The Brookstone Tabletop Fire Pit Recall: What North Carolina Consumers Should Know About Their Legal Rights
By Adam J. Langino, Esq.
The Brookstone Tabletop Fire Pit Recall: What North Carolina Consumers Should Know About Their Legal Rights
On August 13, 2026, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced a recall of Brookstone-branded tabletop fire pits after reports that the products can catch fire in dangerous and unexpected ways. The recall covers roughly 48,700 units.
The recalled fire pits are small, decorative units — a round or hexagonal concrete bowl designed to hold burning liquid alcohol — marketed for both indoor and outdoor use. They were sold at Macy’s, Marshalls, T.J. Maxx, and other national retailers, as well as online at Macys.com, from February 2023 through December 2024, for between $20 and $25. The units carry model numbers BSFIREPIT01, BSFIREPIT02, and BSFIREPIT03, printed with the UPC code on the bottom of the product packaging. The products were imported by Southern Telecom Inc. of Brooklyn, New York, and manufactured in China.
According to the CPSC, the danger is severe. The fire pits can produce uncontrolled “pool fires,” where flames spread across the surface of pooled or spilled alcohol, and “flame jetting,” where flames shoot out of the fuel container. Both can cause serious or even fatal burns. The agency reports two incidents of flame jetting and flames escaping the concrete container, resulting in two injuries that included second-degree and third-degree burns.
What the recall tells you to do. If you own one of these fire pits, stop using it immediately and contact Southern Telecom for a full refund. The company asks consumers to email a photo of the fire pit — marked Recalled with your name and the date in permanent marker — and then dispose of the product. Do not sell or give away these fire pits.
Product Liability Law in North Carolina: The Basics
When a dangerous product injures someone, North Carolina law provides a path to hold the responsible companies accountable. Those claims are governed largely by the North Carolina Products Liability Act, found in Chapter 99B of the General Statutes. A product liability action is broadly defined to include any claim for personal injury, death, or property damage caused by the manufacture, design, formulation, warning, marketing, or labeling of a product.
One feature of North Carolina law is important to understand at the outset. Unlike many states, North Carolina does not recognize strict liability in product cases. In plain terms, that means an injured person generally cannot win simply by showing that a product was defective and caused harm. Instead, North Carolina requires proof that a company was at fault — that it acted unreasonably — usually through a claim for negligence or breach of warranty. This makes experienced legal help, and often engineering or safety experts, especially valuable in these cases.
Most product liability claims fall into one of three theories, all of which the recall notice’s description of the fire pits could potentially implicate.
Design Defect
A design defect claim says the product was dangerous because of the way it was designed — the problem exists in every unit, even those built exactly as intended. Under North Carolina law, an injured person must prove that, at the time the product was made, the manufacturer acted unreasonably in designing the product and that this was a proximate cause of the harm. The person must also prove one of two additional points: (1) that the manufacturer unreasonably failed to adopt a safer, practical, and feasible alternative design that would have prevented or substantially reduced the risk without substantially impairing the product’s usefulness, or (2) that the design was so unreasonable that a reasonable person, aware of the relevant facts, would not use the product.
In deciding whether a design was unreasonable, courts weigh factors such as the seriousness of the risk, whether users would be aware of it, whether the design met any applicable government safety standards, the product’s usefulness, and whether a safer alternative design was feasible. A design that allows an open reservoir of burning alcohol to jet flames or spread an uncontrolled pool fire is the kind of hazard a design defect claim is meant to address — for example, whether a safer fuel system or flame-control feature could have prevented the danger.
Manufacturing Defect
A manufacturing defect claim says that something went wrong in the production of a particular unit, so that it left the factory different from — and more dangerous than — the manufacturer intended. To succeed on a negligence-based product claim in North Carolina, an injured person generally must show that the product was defective when it left the manufacturer’s control, that the defect resulted from the manufacturer’s negligence, and that the defect proximately caused the injury.
Importantly, North Carolina courts recognize that a defect can sometimes be inferred from the fact that a product malfunctioned during ordinary use, even without pinpointing the exact flaw. If a particular fire pit behaved dangerously while being used normally, that malfunction itself can be evidence supporting a claim.
Failure to Warn (Inadequate Warnings or Instructions)
A failure to warn claim focuses not on the product’s design or construction, but on whether the company gave adequate warnings and instructions about its risks. North Carolina law provides that a manufacturer or seller can be liable only if it acted unreasonably in failing to provide an adequate warning or instruction, that failure was a proximate cause of the harm, and the product posed a substantial risk of harm without an adequate warning — either at the time it left the company’s control, or based on information the company learned afterward.
There is a limit: a company is not liable for failing to warn about a risk that is open and obvious or a matter of common knowledge. A key question in a case like this would be whether ordinary consumers would have understood the specific danger of flame jetting or refueling a burning unit, or whether that risk required a clear, prominent warning that was not adequately provided.
Who Can Be Held Responsible?
North Carolina’s law reaches beyond the factory. A manufacturer includes any company that designs, assembles, or produces a product before its sale, and a seller includes retailers, wholesalers, and distributors. In this recall, that potentially includes the importer/distributor and the overseas manufacturer, among others.
Retailers do have a protection worth knowing about. Under North Carolina’s sealed container rule, a seller often cannot be sued in a product liability action (other than for breach of an express warranty) when it sold the product in a sealed container and had no reasonable chance to inspect it. But that protection does not apply if the manufacturer is not subject to North Carolina’s courts or has been declared insolvent. Because the fire pits were manufactured overseas, this exception can matter a great deal, and it is one reason it is important to identify all potentially responsible parties early.
Rights and Remedies for Affected Consumers
A refund for purchasers. Every consumer who bought a recalled fire pit is entitled to the recall remedy — here, a full refund — regardless of whether anyone was injured.
Compensation for those who were harmed. A recall refund addresses the price of the product. It does not compensate someone who was burned, whose home was damaged, or who lost income. Consumers injured by a defective product in North Carolina may be able to recover a range of damages, which commonly include medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and property damage.
Breach of warranty. In addition to negligence claims, a purchaser may have a claim for breach of warranty. North Carolina law implies a warranty of merchantability — a promise that goods are fit for their ordinary use — in sales by a merchant, and express warranties can arise from a seller’s affirmations or product descriptions. These warranty protections extend not just to the buyer but to members of the buyer’s family or household and guests who are injured, and North Carolina has removed the old requirement of a direct contract (privity) so that an injured person may sue the manufacturer directly for breach of implied warranty. Warranty claims exist alongside product liability claims.
Wrongful death. In the most tragic cases — and the CPSC has warned these fire pits can cause fatal burns — North Carolina’s wrongful death statute allows a decedent’s estate to recover damages including medical and funeral expenses, the decedent’s pain and suffering, and the value of the life lost to the family.
Punitive damages. In limited circumstances, North Carolina allows punitive damages — but only where the injured person proves, by clear and convincing evidence, that the defendant is liable for compensatory damages and acted with fraud, malice, or willful or wanton conduct. Punitive damages are capped at the greater of three times the compensatory damages or $250,000.
A word of caution about the refund. Accepting a recall refund is generally about the purchase price of the product, not a settlement of an injury claim. But before signing any document, waiver, or “release” offered by a company in connection with a recall or claim, an injured consumer should have a lawyer review it. Some release forms attempt to give up far more than the price of the product.
Deadlines Matter: Don’t Wait Too Long
North Carolina imposes firm time limits, and missing them can end a valid claim before it begins.
Personal injury claims generally must be filed within three years. The clock typically starts when the injury becomes apparent, or reasonably should have become apparent.
Breach of warranty claims generally must be filed within four years, and that clock usually starts when the product is delivered — which means it can run out sooner than you might expect.
An outer limit (statute of repose). Separately, North Carolina bars most product claims brought more than 12 years after the date the product was first purchased for use. Because these fire pits were sold in 2023 and 2024, that outer window remains open — but the shorter three- and four-year deadlines above are the ones most likely to apply first.
Because these deadlines can be complicated and depend on the specific facts, the safest course is to speak with an attorney promptly rather than risk running out of time.
What to Do If You Believe You Were Harmed
If you or a loved one was injured by one of these fire pits, a few practical steps can protect both your health and your legal rights:
Get medical care first. Burns can be far more serious than they appear. Seek treatment right away, and follow up as directed. Your medical records will also document what happened.
Stop using the product — and do not throw it away. Although the recall notice asks consumers to dispose of the fire pit for safety, if you were injured, the product itself is critical evidence. Preserve the fire pit, its packaging, any fuel, and the instructions. Store them safely and out of use, and photograph everything.
Keep your records. Save your receipt or proof of purchase, the model number and UPC, the recall notice, and any correspondence with the seller or Southern Telecom.
Document the injury and the scene. Take photographs of your injuries as they heal and of any property damage, and write down what happened while it is fresh in your memory.
Be careful with recall paperwork. Do not sign a release or waiver, or accept a settlement of an injury claim, before having a lawyer review it.
Talk to an attorney promptly. Because North Carolina’s deadlines can be short, and because these cases often turn on preserving the product and consulting technical experts, it is wise to get legal advice sooner rather than later.
How Langino Law PLLC Can Help
Product liability cases are complex. They often require preserving the defective product as evidence, retaining engineering and safety experts, and proving that a company acted unreasonably in designing, making, or warning about its product. Based in Chapel Hill, Langino Law PLLC focuses on holding manufacturers and sellers accountable for dangerous products and works with injured North Carolinians on a contingency basis — meaning you pay no attorney’s fee unless there is a recovery.
If you or a family member was burned or otherwise harmed by a Brookstone tabletop fire pit, or if you simply have questions about your rights, we offer a free, no-obligation consultation. Every situation is different, and this article cannot substitute for advice about your specific circumstances. Please consult an attorney to understand the options that apply to you. You may contact us at 888-254-3521 or https://www.langinolaw.com/contact.
https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2026/Southern-Telecom-Recalls-Brookstone-Branded-Tabletop-Fire-Pits-Due-to-Risk-of-Serious-Burn-Injury-or-Death-from-Flame-Jetting-and-Fire-Hazard