Galanz Recalls 121,680 Retro Refrigerators Sold at Home Depot After 34 Fires and One Death

What Was Recalled?

On July 30, 2026, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Galanz Americas Limited Company announced the recall of about 121,680 Galanz retro refrigerators, recall number 26-649. The notice identifies the manufacturer as Zhongshan Galanz, of China, and the importers as Home Depot, of Georgia, and Galanz Americas Limited Company, of New Jersey.

According to the CPSC notice, the recall covers 7.6 cubic foot retro-style refrigerators sold in black, blue, red and white, measuring about 58 inches high, 24 inches deep and 21 inches wide, with three adjustable glass shelves, one drawer, and a separate top-freezer door with Galanz printed on the front. The covered model numbers are BCD-215V-62H, GLR76TRDER, GLR76TBKER, GLR76TBEER and GLR76TWEER.

Only units with date codes from December 2018 through December 2020 are included. The notice says the brand name, model number and date code, in YYYYMM format, are printed on a white label in the upper left-hand corner on the back of the unit.

The refrigerators were sold at Home Depot stores nationwide and online at Amazon.com from January 2019 to September 2022, for between $330 and $520. Those are national retail channels with a large Texas footprint, so units reached buyers across the state over that period.

What Risk Does the Notice Describe?

The stated hazard is that the recalled refrigerators’ internal electrical components can short circuit and ignite, which CPSC describes as posing a risk of serious injury or death from fire and burn hazards.

CPSC states it is aware of 34 reports of fire involving the refrigerators, one of which resulted in a fatality according to the local fire department report. The notice does not identify where that death occurred.

The remedy in this recall is a repair, not a refund. CPSC and the company say consumers should unplug and stop using the recalled refrigerators immediately until repaired, and contact Galanz to schedule a free in-home repair by a qualified technician. Information is available through the company recall site at GalanzRetroFridgeRecall.expertinquiry.com. CPSC asks consumers to report related incidents at SaferProducts.gov.

National outlets including Fox Business, NewsNation and Consumer Reports reported the recall the same week.

Who Can Be Affected?

• Anyone in Texas who bought one of the listed Galanz retro refrigerator models at Home Depot or on Amazon between January 2019 and September 2022
• People who received one secondhand — compact refrigerators are commonly resold, handed down, or left behind, and a later owner may never have seen a recall notice
• Renters and tenants whose landlord or property manager supplied the appliance, and who may not know the model or purchase date
• Dorm rooms, garages, workshops, offices, break rooms, salons, and short-term rentals, where compact refrigerators often run unattended around the clock
• Anyone treated for burns or smoke inhalation, or whose home, apartment, or belongings were damaged in a fire of undetermined cause where an appliance was running

What Kind of Claim Might Apply?

Attorneys who handle Texas defective product and fire cases generally describe several paths that can apply when an appliance ignites and causes injury or property damage:

• A products liability claim — Chapter 82 of the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code governs products liability actions in Texas, including claims based on a manufacturing defect, a design defect, or a failure to warn, and sets out the roles of manufacturers and sellers in the chain of distribution.
• The imported-product question — the manufacturer here is a Chinese company, while the notice names two U.S. importers. Lawyers who handle imported-product cases say that reaching a foreign manufacturer raises questions of jurisdiction, service, and collectability, and that Chapter 82 also addresses when a seller or importer in the chain can be treated differently from a manufacturer. An attorney can explain how those rules apply to a specific purchase and a specific retailer.
• A fire and property-damage claim — when a defective appliance starts a house or apartment fire, there can be both an injury claim and a property claim, and an insurer that pays a fire loss may pursue its own subrogation claim against the product maker. Attorneys say a homeowner or renter policy claim and a product claim can run at the same time.
• A claim for someone seriously burned — burn and smoke-inhalation injuries can mean emergency care, skin grafts, infection risk, scarring, and long rehabilitation, and Texas law lets an injured person seek compensation for medical bills, lost income, disfigurement, and other harms.
• A wrongful death and survival claim — if a defective product causes a death, Chapter 71 generally allows a surviving spouse, children, and parents to seek compensation, with a survival claim belonging to the estate.
• Preserving the proof, which is different in a repair recall — this recall asks consumers to accept an in-home repair rather than return the unit, so the appliance normally stays in the home. Attorneys handling appliance-fire cases routinely ask people who were actually harmed to keep the unit in its post-fire condition, along with the model number and date code label, the power cord, the purchase or order record, photographs of the scene and of any injury, and the medical and fire-department reports. A repair replaces the very components an expert would want to examine, so a person who was hurt may want a lawyer to look at the situation before a technician works on the unit.

None of the above says that any particular person has a claim. It describes the questions Texas attorneys say people ask after a recall like this one, and the evidence they typically want preserved. A lawyer can review a specific situation and explain what, if anything, applies.

Why Acting Quickly Can Matter

For most Texas personal injury and wrongful death cases, the statute of limitations is generally two years, and Chapter 16 also contains a separate period of repose for products liability claims that runs from the date of sale — a lawyer can explain how those deadlines apply to a specific purchase and a specific injury date. That matters here because the covered units were sold as far back as January 2019.

The practical clock is shorter than the legal one. Fire scenes get cleared, damaged appliances get hauled off, insurers close files, and a repair remedy puts a technician inside the exact components that an expert would examine. Many people choose to have a lawyer look at the situation early, while the unit, the purchase record, and the fire report still exist.

Sources

1. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission — Galanz Americas recalls retro refrigerators due to risk of serious injury or death from fire and burn hazards; one death reported (recall 26-649, July 30, 2026)
2. Fox Business — More than 120,000 refrigerators recalled after 34 fires, one reported death
3. NewsNation — Retro refrigerators sold at Home Depot, Amazon recalled over fire hazard
4. Consumer Reports — 121,680 Galanz retro refrigerators recalled due to risk of fire hazard
5. CPSC SaferProducts.gov — Report an unsafe product or a product-related injury
6. Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code, Chapter 82 (Products Liability)
7. Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code, Chapter 71 (Wrongful Death; Survival)
8. Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code, Chapter 16 (Limitations)