(WHTM) — Thousands of gun safes sold by Fortress Safe have been recalled due to the risk that they can be accessed by unauthorized users, according to the United States Consumer Product Commission.
According to the commission, the biometric safes pose a “serious safety hazard and risk of death” that is caused by a programming feature that can allow unauthorized users to access them.
The commission states that consumers can believe that they have properly programmed the biometric feature when the safes actually remain in the default to open mode.
The commission says that they are aware of one lawsuit that alleges that a 12-year-old boy died from a firearm that was obtained from one of the safes. According to the commission, there have been 39 incidents of consumers reporting that their safes have been accessed by unpaired fingerprints.
Recalled Fortress Portable Safe with Biometric Lock, Model 11B20 (Courtesy: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) 
Recalled Fortress Personal Safe with Pop up door and Biometric Lock, Model 44B10 (Courtesy: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) 
Recalled Legend Range & Field Personal Safe with Pop up door and Biometric Lock, Model 44B10L (Courtesy: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) 
Recalled Fortress Medium Personal Safe with Biometric Lock, Model 44B20 (Courtesy: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) 
Recalled Fortress Quick Access Safe with Biometric Lock, 55B20 (Courtesy: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) 
Recalled Fortress Large Quick Access Safe with Biometric Lock, 55B30 (Courtesy: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) 
Recalled Cabela’s Biometric Personal Safe, 55B30BP (Courtesy: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) 
Recalled Cabela’s Biometric Personal Safe, 55B30BP (Courtesy: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) 
Recalled Cabela’s Biometric Personal Safe, 55B30BP (Courtesy: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) 
Recalled Cabela’s Biometric Personal Safe, 55B30BP (Courtesy: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)
The commission is telling consumers to immediately stop using the biometric feature, remove the batteries from the safe, and only use the key for the recalled safes that are being used to store firearms.
Consumers are being directed to contact Fortress Safes for instructions on disabling the biometric feature and to receive a free replacement safe.
The 61,000 recalled gun safes include portable lock boxes, personal safes, pistol vaults, and gun cabinets with brand names Fortress, Cabela’s, Gettysburg, and Legend Range & Field.
The model numbers are located above the barcode on a label on the back of the safe, and on the top right corner of the original packaging.
| Model # | Description |
| 11B20 | Fortress Portable Safe with Biometric Lock |
| 44B10 | Fortress Personal Safe with Pop up door and Biometric Lock |
| 44B10L | Legend Range & Field Personal Safe with Pop up door and Biometric Lock |
| 44B20 | Fortress Medium Personal Safe with Biometric Lock |
| 55B20 | Fortress Quick Access Safe with Biometric Lock |
| 55B30 | Fortress Large Quick Access Safe with Biometric Lock |
| 55B30G | Gettysburg Large Quick Access Safe with Biometric Lock |
| 4BGGBP | Cabela’s 4 Gun Safe with Biometric Lock |
| 55B30BP | Cabela’s Biometric Personal Safe |
According to the commission, the recalled safes were sold at Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Scheel’s, Sportsman’s Guide, Optics Planet, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Gander, Rural King, Lowe’s and other stores nationwide and online at Amazon.com and Ebay.com from January 2019 through October 2023 for between $44 and $290.
Consumers can report incidents with the safes or other products to the commission at www.SaferProducts.gov.
Consumer Contact
Safe toll-free at 833-588-9181 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. MT Monday through Friday or online at https://www.fortresssafe.com/biometric-product-recall.html or www.fortresssafe.com and click on “Recall” at the top of the page for more information.
