Ikea has agreed to pay a $500,000 civil penalty for failing to report incidents from defective outdoor candles sold by the retailer in a timely manner, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The CPSC alleges that Ikea failed to report to the government that outdoor candles sold by the firm for four years could unexpectedly flare up and pose fire and burn injury hazards to consumers when they attempted to extinguish the candles by blowing them out. During that time, the firm received at least 32 reports worldwide of unexpected flare-ups, including fire, scorching and twelve reported injuries that ranged in severity from minor to serious burns.

Ikea sold about 133,000 six-pack sets of the outdoor candles in the U.S. between February 2001 and July 2005. An additional 1.3 million candle sets were sold internationally. In May 2006, CPSC and Ikea announced a recall of the candles.

Federal Law requires manufacturers, distributors and retailers to report to the CPSC immediately after obtaining information that reasonably supports the conclusion that a product contains a defect, which could create a substantial product hazard or create an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death.
In agreeing to settle the allegations, Ikea denied that it knowingly violated federal law.

Made in Estonia, the white candles came in a silver-colored metal containers and featured a square wick made of brown fiberboard. The sets of six sold for $4.00. Consumers who may have purchased the candles can find more information on Ikea's Web site.