Electric Blankets Or Sheets
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Laundry & Household Appliances · CPSC Code 132
Up 11% over 5 years
The verdict
Electric Blankets Or Sheets carry a danger score of 38/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 408 ER-treated injuries a year that are rising by about 11% over the last five years.
- 38/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 408
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 17.8%
- end in hospital admission
- 75+
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 132 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 38/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for electric blankets or sheets - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume408 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)17.8%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend+11%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Electric Blankets Or Sheets (CPSC product code 132, in the Laundry & Household Appliances category) generate an estimated 408 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 8,169 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 38/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are rising by about 11% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2016 (852 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2006 (106 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for electric blankets or sheets is fracture to the lower trunk, accounting for approximately 514 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by burns, thermal to the lower leg (474 cases). The 75+ age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 2,667 cases over the NEISS window, and females appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 17.8% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 189 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how electric blankets or sheets fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 416 | 66 | |
| 5-14 | 195 | 308 | |
| 15-24 | 95 | 139 | |
| 25-34 | 223 | 257 | |
| 35-44 | 98 | 325 | |
| 45-54 | 407 | 600 | |
| 55-64 | 146 | 761 | |
| 65-74 | 409 | 1,058 | |
| 75+ | 967 | 1,700 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Lower Trunk | Fracture | |
| Lower Leg | Burns, Thermal | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Lower Trunk | Burns, Thermal | |
| Knee | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Shoulder | Strain, Sprain | |
| Lower Leg | Other | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Foot | Burns, Thermal | |
| Lower Trunk | Other | |
| All Parts Body | Anoxia | |
| Upper Trunk | Fracture | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Head | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Knee | Fracture |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
54YOM STATES HE THINKS HE WAS BIT BY A SPIDER OR LEFT HEATED BLANKET ON TOO LONG. REDNESS NOTED TO RIGHT CALF. DX: NO DIAGNOSIS AVAILABLE PT LEFT
70YOM PRESENTS AFTER BURNING HIS RIGHT FOOT ON AN ELECTRIC BLANKET TWO WEEKS AGO AND NOW HAS CELLULITIS TO HIS RIGHT LOWER EXTREMITY DX: RIGHT LOWER EXTREMITY CELLULITIS
43YOF,BURN LOWER LEG AFTER SLEEPING WITH HEATING BLANKET PRODUCED BLISTER,DX:BURN LOWER LEG
12 YOF SUSTAINED BURNS TO RIGHT MIDDLE AND RING FINGERS AFTER HEATED BLANKET CAUGHT ON FIRE, NO EVIDENCE OF EMS OR FIRE DEPARTMENT ATTENDANCE, DX: PARTIAL THICKNESS BURNS TO FINGERS
26YOM, PRESENTS WITH BLISTERING TO THE BACK AND SLOUGHED SKIN ON LOWER ABDOMEN AFTER FALLING ASLEEP ON A HEATED BLANKET, DX: DEEP PARTIAL THICKNESS BURN OF BACK; NON-TRAUMATIC RHABDOMYOLYSIS
92YOF TRIPPED OVER THE CORD OF AN ELECTRIC BLANKET AND FELL DX: FRACTURED LEFT HIP
13YOM PRESENT TO ED W/ 2EPISODES LOC. LAST NIGHT PT WENT TO BATHROOM WAS LEANING FACE FORWARD ON THE WALL W/ SHAKING MOVEMENTS ARMS/HEAD 10SEC NOT RESPONSIVE 1MIN. FATHER HELPED HIM BACK TO BED NOTES UNUSUALLY SLEEPY PT FELT WARM WAS SLEEPING UNDER HEATED BLANKET NO FEVER. IN THE AM TRIED TO GET OUT OF BED WAS DIZZY HAD ANOTHER LOC NO HX SEIZURES
74 YOF STATES SHE WAS TRYING TO TURN OUT THE ELECTRIC BLANKET WHEN SHE FELL OUT OF BED. PT C/O RIGHT-SIDED RIB PAIN AND LEFT KNEE PAIN. DX: FALL; INJURY OF HEAD; COMPRESSION FRACTURE OF BODY OF THORACIC VERTEBRA
50YOF WALKED IN TO ED FOR HIP BURN. PATIENT STATES SHE SLEPT ON A HEATED BLANKET A WEEK AGO AND OBTAINED A BURN TO RIGHT HIP. PER PATIENT HUSBAND PATIENT WAS FOUND TODAY UNCONSCIOUS AND FLUSHED, PATIENT STATES SHE HAS HEADACHE AND DOES NOT RECALL ALL EVENTS. DX:SYNCOPE AND COLLAPSE; BURN.
64YOF AT HOME ELECTRIC BLANKET WRAPPED AROUND HER WAS UP WALKING AND BLANKET CAUGHT AND SHE FELL ONTO SHOULDER. DX FX HUMERUS
36 YOF REPORTS SLEEPING WITH A HEATING BLANKET AND DEVELOPED A BURN TO HER CHEST. INCENDENTAL FINDING OF FLU, HISTORY OF ESRD AND CARDIAC ARREST. DX: FLU
55YOF WITH BURN TO FOREARM AFTER SHE WAS LEFT WITH AN ELECTRIC BLANKET AND WOKE UP WITH A BURN PT LEFT ED DX: BURN OF LEFT FOREARM
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
[REDACTED] DDN heated blanket model # KTHB-DVS-I started on fire in middle of top of blanket
On 09/26/2012 I was sleeping and my wife was reading in bed with our King sized electric blanket on. The Blanket was produced by Biddeford Blankets. My wife heard a buzzing noise and smelled smoke at which point and time she noticed that the electric controller for her half of the electric blanket was burning. Fire was contained within plastic shell but visible arcing, flame, and smoke were seen. She woke me up (firefighter by trade). I was able to unplug and extinguish the controller without any further damage (doused it in a sink.) The blanket (itself) did not appear to burn just the control unit. Due to the fact that the fire did not extend beyond the object of origin, the fire department was not called. Therefore, I am hoping that this organization can monitor whether this is a freak or common occurence with this device. The controller is off white with the number 1-H on a single dial. It has Biddeford Auto Off on the face. The lot # was 380910. There was no visible serial #.
My Biddeford electric blanket started smoking as I was on the couch. Fortunately I saw it smoking and I wasnt asleep. I also looked it up and it appears Biddeford electric blankets have been recalled in the past for fire hazards. I dont want someone to get hurt by this product since its a fire hazard. LOT NUMBER: 330813-DA
I noticed earlier this year that a brown spot appeared on our fitted sheet, which then crisped up and burned through. Looking underneath it, I found where one of the coils on our heated mattress pad had burned up. This then burned through the sheets above, singed some of the pillows, and burned the top of the mattress underneath.
Full size Navy color Heating Blanket By SunBeam. Made in China. I used the product, used like instructions said to do. Blanket in August got extremely hot 2 nights and last time left burn feeling marks in my back. Now it won't work. On and Off button the light circling it flashes off and on. No Heat in Blanket. Made in the year 2022.Style number 83N... I used it to help with Fibromyalgia and my intense tailbone and S1 w/ L5 Fusion and Decompression with also a surgeon for Nerve repair near tailbone. I had 4 surgeries in 1 surgery with 4 surgeons.
What happened that made you want to report?Serious burn injuries What type of product(s) were being used? Bedsure electric blanket Who was using the product(s)? I was How were the product(s) being used?For heat while sleeping Were there any injuries that happened or may have happened while using the product? Yes. Serious burn injuries.
I was using my queen size heating blanket with .y 6 year old son when we couldn't understand why it was getting so hot. I grabbed it and unplugged it after it burned my back and smelt funny. Looked at it and it was smoldering aboit to catch on fire.
Bought an Electric Blanket in Target, after just a short time, while in use, I noticed a foul odor coming out of one of the controls: the smell was just like that emanating from an electric short circuit. Disconnected this control and connected the other one, the same thing happened: the same odor came out and immydiatelly disconnected the blanket as considered there was a high risk of having the blanket catch fire or an electric shock. On July 29th I contacted the manufacturer reporting this incident and so far, have not received any reply whatsoever. Consider this incident to be of great significance and steps should be taken to safegurd consumers. I have the blanket with me and have not tried to return it to the store where I bought as this would not be appropiate solution. FYG this is the email sent to manufacturer: "Gentlemen: I bought one of your blankets at my local Target (item 062030136) store. After just a few days of use, felt a smoke odor coming from one of the controls, switched it off and after a few minutes the same type of burt odor came from the other control. The odor can be described as that generated by an electric short circuit. Needless to say, I stopped using the blanket as soon as became aware of the fire or electic shock hazard. For your guidance the control reads: " TC11BA - 76 PA - 120 V AC - US PAT # 5.861.610 180 WATTS - E 224829 BIDDEFORD BLANKETS LOT NO. 400910 " Due to the above incident, at this time I am looking for a full refund. Before contacting Target or any consumer agency, wanted to make you aware of this defective product and hope you will take the corrective actions required for the safety of final consumers. Your comments will be appreciated. Truly yours, [REDACTED] I wish to thank CPSC in advance for any action on this matter.
Showing 8 of 189 reports.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to electric blankets or sheets on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are electric blankets or sheets?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, electric blankets or sheets have a danger score of 38/100 (low risk). An estimated 408 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from electric blankets or sheets?
The most common injury is fracture to the lower trunk, accounting for approximately 514 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from electric blankets or sheets increasing or decreasing?
Up 11% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for electric blankets or sheets injuries?
The 75+ age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 2,667 cases recorded over 20 years. Females are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by electric blankets or sheets?
Of all ER visits involving electric blankets or sheets, approximately 17.8% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (82.2%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with electric blankets or sheets?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Laundry & Household Appliances
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 38/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 75+ age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
