A nationwide recall of ventilation fans in more than 6,000 school HVAC units in the U.S. is shedding new light on a string of fires at schools in South Jersey that NBC10 exclusively broke the news of earlier this year. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says a fan motor in certain Aireda le SchoolMate and ClassMate heat pump units can short-circuit and cause the units to overheat if water gets on the circuit board. Modine received 11 reports of incidents that resulted in fires, according to the CPSC. The fires caused at least $2.7 million in damage. No injuries have been reported. The company says it is working closely with the CPSC to conduct the voluntary recall, which affects ventilation fans in more than 6,000 HVAC units in the U.S. and hundreds more in Canada. The recall comes after NBC10 began investigating the issue in early March and uncovered a pattern of fires in NJ, northeast Pa. and Washington state between November and late February. In South Jersey, fires in four separate HVAC units at Arthur Rann Elementary School in Galloway Township caused significant smoke damage. Property damage restoration crews are still working at the school, and about 75% of the building is expected to reopen when classes resume. Jersey Shore Apr 28 Documents reveal prior cases of ‘fuses blowing' before Wildwood school HVAC fire Washington Apr 9 Federal agency investigating HVAC fire in school classrooms after more reported “It’s very significant,” Galloway Township fire investigator Chuck Uhl said. “It was very, very important that we found the cause and that, you know, we rectified it,” Uhl said. Cape May County Fire Marshal Rick Lundholm said addressing the problem is necessary. “It’s got to be done. You can’t continue to have these fires in the schools,” Lundholm said. The recall recommends that the affected fans be inspected and repaired or replaced for free. Modine says remediation efforts have been completed for substantially all affected units across the country. Wildwood Fire Chief and school board President Ernie Troiano III called the recall an important development. “Bottom line, safety is first and foremost. So the fact that they’ve finally identified that there is an issue,” Troiano said. “and issued this recall, that’s definitely a big step in the right direction,” Troiano said. Uhl also credited media attention on the fires with helping bring attention to the issue. “I do believe that you putting the spotlight, the media putting the spotlight on this fire, I think it was helpful. As an investigator, I appreciate that,” Uhl said. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication. ...read more read less