Federal regulators have recalled about 6,061 ventilation fans built into heat pumps that heat, cool, and ventilate classrooms, after 11 reported incidents that resulted in fires and at least $2.7 million in property damage.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the action Thursday for Airedale-branded ventilation fans in ClassMate and SchoolMate heat pumps made by Modine Manufacturing Company of Racine, Wisconsin. About 735 additional units were sold in Canada. No injuries have been reported.
Two things make this different from a routine appliance recall. The equipment sits in schools, and it is being pulled from service as the academic year begins. And the failure mechanism is unusually specific: the agency says the ventilation fan motor can short-circuit if water gets on the circuit board, causing the units to overheat.
Eleven Fires, and What Sits Behind Them
Most fire-hazard recalls describe an outcome without a documented history. This one has both. Modine has received 11 reports of incidents that resulted in fires, with property damage totaling at least $2.7 million and no injuries reported.
Heat pumps and ventilation units are built to handle moisture as a normal part of operation. Condensate forms during cooling, drains through a pan and a line, and is carried away. Defrost cycles in heating mode produce meltwater. Water becomes a problem when it reaches a place it was not designed to go; in this equipment, the vulnerable area is the circuit board controlling the ventilation fan motor.
A short circuit on an energized board generates localized heat, and in an enclosure containing insulation, dust accumulation, and electrical wiring, that heat has material to work with. Eleven fires is what that looks like in the field.
The units are not new. They sold through independent dealers nationwide from August 2013 through January 2026, at between $15,000 and $25,000, with the ventilation fans also sold separately for $250 to $450. That is a twelve-year installed base, and many of the affected schools will have changed facilities staff several times since installation.
How Schools Can Tell Whether Their Units Are Included
The recall covers specific model families and ventilation configurations, so a district cannot rule itself out by brand alone.
Affected models are CMD and CMP units with a ninth-digit ventilation configuration of C, D or E, and SMG, SMW and CMS units with a ninth-digit configuration of H, J, K, N or P. The Airedale brand name appears on a sticker on the front of the unit. The model name and serial number are on the serial plate on the underside of the control unit.
Building owners and facility managers should not assume a unit is unaffected simply because it is indoors or has never leaked. Condensate overflow does not require exposure to weather. The next step is to contact the Modine distributor of record with the model and serial numbers and confirm in writing whether each unit falls under the recall. For managed properties and school districts, that documentation belongs in the maintenance file.
The Two-Step Remedy and Why the Order Matters
This recall asks owners to do something first and schedule something second, which is different from most consumer recalls and is easy to get wrong.
CPSC says consumers should stop using the recalled heat pumps immediately and contact Modine for written instructions on how to unplug the recalled ventilation fan or switch the fan's internal disconnect to the off position. Only after that should they contact their Modine distributor to arrange a free inspection and service. Technicians will inspect and then repair or replace the affected outside-air and exhaust-air ventilation fans in all units.
The reason the sequence matters is that de-energizing removes the hazard immediately, while the service appointment may be weeks out depending on distributor capacity across thousands of units. A unit left running while awaiting service remains exposed.
Owners should not attempt the disconnect step from a general description. Modine is providing written instructions specific to the equipment, and the internal disconnect is inside an enclosure that contains line voltage. Anyone not comfortable with the procedure should have the distributor or a licensed HVAC technician perform it.
Modine can be reached through its recall page, by email at [email protected], or by phone at (888) 636-8627.
What Losing a Classroom Unit Means in Late Summer
Because this equipment supplies heating, cooling, and ventilation to classrooms, a shutdown affects a room full of children rather than a single household, and it arrives during the hottest stretch of the school calendar in much of the country.
The students most vulnerable to indoor heat are young children, anyone with cardiovascular or respiratory disease, including asthma, students taking medications that impair heat regulation, and anyone with limited mobility. Staff who are older, pregnant, or managing chronic conditions face the same exposure.
Reduced ventilation matters independently of temperature. Lower air exchange increases indoor concentrations of carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds, and airborne particles, and in a classroom setting, it increases the risk of respiratory transmission. These units were installed in part to improve indoor air quality, so taking them offline removes that function as well.
Practical interim steps include portable cooling and filtration in occupied rooms, relocating classes from affected spaces, adjusting schedules during peak heat, and, where outdoor air quality permits, using natural ventilation. Districts serving medically vulnerable students should treat the outage as a continuity issue and document a plan with the school nurse.
Heat illness signs worth briefing staff on include heavy sweating, cold, clammy skin, muscle cramps, weakness, dizziness, nausea, and headache, all of which warrant moving the student to a cool place and involving the school nurse. Confusion, hot, dry skin, a body temperature above 103 degrees, loss of consciousness, or seizure indicates heat stroke and requires calling 911 immediately while cooling the person.
Reporting and What Has Not Been Disclosed
Anyone who experienced overheating, smoke, or a fire involving this equipment should file a report at SaferProducts.gov, including facilities staff whose incidents may have been handled through insurance rather than reported to the agency.
What has not been disclosed is the date range of affected production within the twelve-year window, where the 11 fires occurred, whether any classrooms were occupied at the time, or whether service capacity will meet demand across thousands of units before cold weather arrives. CPSC posts updates to its recalls page as new information is added.
MedicalDaily has separately reported on generator carbon monoxide deaths during storm outages and on a ventilator recall that told patients to keep using it, two cases in which the instructions attached to a recall mattered as much as the defect.
Key Questions Answered
What is recalled? About 6,061 Airedale ventilation fans in Modine ClassMate and SchoolMate heat pumps used in classrooms, plus roughly 735 in Canada.
Have there been fires? Yes. Modine has received 11 reports of incidents resulting in fires, with at least $2.7 million in property damage. No injuries have been reported.
What is the defect? The ventilation fan motor can short-circuit if water gets on the circuit board, causing the unit to overheat and creating a fire hazard.
Which models are affected? CMD and CMP units with ventilation configuration C, D, or E, and SMG, SMW, and CMS units with configuration H, J, K, N, or P.
What should a district do first? Stop using the unit and contact Modine for written instructions on how to unplug the fan or switch off the internal disconnect, then arrange the free inspection.
Who performs the disconnect? Anyone not comfortable working near line voltage should have the distributor or a licensed HVAC technician do it.
When does heat illness become an emergency? Confusion, hot, dry skin, temperature above 103 degrees, loss of consciousness, or seizure. Call 911.
