Gladstrong to Recall 13 Million Cigarette Lighters

A Hacienda Heights company has agreed to recall 13 million disposable cigarette lighters because of ineffective childproof mechanisms, federal safety regulators said Tuesday.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said Gladstrong Investments USA had received a report of a 4-year-old girl who died after starting a fire with one of the lighters and then hiding in a closet.

The agency said young children were able to work the lighters, sold under the Boda-Bing, Gil, Happy and Wax brands nationwide from 1998 to February this year for about $1 each.

Federal standards require that lighters made since 1994 be difficult for children under 5 to operate.

Lighters also topped a list issued Tuesday by the commission of items that should be discarded to rid homes of fire hazards. Each year, 800 children under 15 are among the more than 3,000 people who die because of fires that start in homes, the commission said.

“That’s why people should . . . check their homes for knickknack drawers for old disposable lighters, frayed extension cords and other products that could be hazardous,” commission Chairwoman Ann Brown said.

There was no comment from Gladstrong.