Melissa & Doug recalls 84,000 Target-exclusive fire truck toys over choking hazard

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled about 84,000 Melissa & Doug "Lights and Sound Fire Truck" activity boards after finding that a small plastic port shaped like a fire hose can come loose and detach, creating a choking hazard for young children. The recall notice, dated September 17, 2026, covers a toy sold exclusively at Target stores and on Target.com.

The recalled item is a compact red plastic fire engine with four black wheels, a white rotating ladder and a busy-board panel that triggers lights and sounds when pressed. It measures 10.5 inches high, 14.31 inches wide and 3.06 inches deep, and weighs about 1.6 pounds. A black plastic connector meant to resemble a fire hose is the part that can separate from the toy body.

The numbers behind the recall

Melissa & Doug had received 26 reports of the hose-shaped port coming loose by the time the recall was filed, including one report of a minor cut. No hospitalizations have been reported. The toy sold for about $30 at Target stores nationwide and on Target.com from July 2025 through August 2026, meaning it has been on shelves and in homes for more than a year.

Because the defect was identified and addressed while the product was still being sold at Target, the case moved through the CPSC's Fast Track Recall Program, which lets a manufacturer that reports a hazard and proposes a corrective plan begin a recall within about 20 days, without the agency first making a formal finding that the product is defective.

Identifying an affected toy

Not every Fire Truck Activity Board sold under the name is included. The company and CPSC say consumers should check two spots on the product and packaging:

• On the bottom of the toy, two date wheels are embossed near the battery compartment; recalled units show one arrow pointing to "25" and a second pointing to "4" or "5," or one arrow pointing to "26" and a second pointing to "3."
• The product packaging carries one of three date codes: OET 25100, OET 25150 or OET 26064.

The toy was manufactured in China and imported by Melissa & Doug, which is based in Wilton, Connecticut. Melissa and Doug Bernstein founded the company in 1988; it has been a subsidiary of the Canadian toy maker Spin Master since 2024.

Who is affected and what to do

Consumers who own the toy are told to stop letting children use it immediately. The Lights & Sound Fire Truck listing has been pulled from active sale, and owners must register through Melissa & Doug's recall portal to receive a free replacement toy, a $30 refund by check, or a $40 store credit. The process requires removing the batteries, writing "RECALL" along with a registration-issued code on the toy in permanent marker, cutting off the black hose piece, photographing the destroyed toy, uploading that photo during registration, and then disposing of the product in household trash. Consumers with questions can also call the company toll-free at 800-718-5365, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.

A broader pattern of small parts and small children

The recall lands amid a heavy year for children's product recalls generally; the CPSC has flagged more than a dozen infant and toddler products for choking, suffocation, battery and fall hazards since the summer, spanning several manufacturers and retailers. Choking on small parts remains, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, a leading cause of injury and death among children younger than 4. A 2019 study published in Pediatrics found that roughly 99 children a day were treated in U.S. emergency departments for swallowing a foreign object between 1995 and 2015, with the rate climbing over that period.

Pediatricians frequently recommend a low-tech screening method for parents deciding whether a toy or toy part is safe for a child under 3: seeing whether it fits through an empty toilet-paper tube, which approximates the CPSC's official small-parts test cylinder.

That tube test approximates a cylinder defined in federal regulation, not an ad hoc parenting hack. Under 16 CFR 1501.4, the CPSC's official small-parts test uses a cylinder 2.25 inches long and 1.25 inches in diameter, sized to approximate a young child's fully expanded throat; any loose component of a toy intended for children under 3 that fits entirely inside it is barred from sale. The fire truck's hose port is an attached piece rather than a loose small part, so it falls under a separate durability standard rather than this size ban.

"Anything that passes through the tube means it can go into their mouth and they can swallow it," said Dr. Nkeiruka Orajiaka, an Ohio pediatrician, describing the test in an interview with Today.

She cautioned that the tube test is only a rough guide, and that parents also need to watch for toys with button batteries or pieces that can snap or pull free during play, which is the mechanism behind the fire truck recall rather than a small part present from the factory.

What happens next

The recall is limited to the specific date-coded units described above; Melissa & Doug has not recalled other fire truck products it sells, including its wooden play sets. Target has stopped selling the recalled item, and the CPSC will continue to track incident reports through Melissa & Doug's required reporting under the terms of the fast-track agreement. Consumers who are unsure whether their toy is affected can cross-check the date codes against the CPSC's recall database or contact Melissa & Doug directly. The agency has not indicated any additional units beyond the roughly 84,000 covered by the current notice, and as of publication no further injuries beyond the single reported cut had been logged.