Brother's Australian customers, however, have yet to be told whether or not the recall will affect them, with the printer manufacturer's local office unaware of the apparent faults and unsure about whether or not it will extend the recall notice to include Australia.
In a statement released on Tuesday in conjunction with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, Brother said it had received two reports of overheating printers catching on fire, with one case involving minor property damage.
The recall involves laser printers with model numbers HL-1040, HL-1050 and HL-1060, plus the MFC-P200 multifunction device, which combines printing, copying and faxing capabilities.
The affected printers were sold between June 1997 and December 2000.
Brother is a Japan-based company that began as a sewing machine manufacturer and expanded to make printers and other office machines.
Additional reporting by ZDNet Australia's Cass Warneminde.
gotta remember to pack the extinguisher in my toolkit on my way to work.....