A brand of battery packs available throughout North America over the past few years is being recalled because they can overheat and cause a fire, its manufacturer said.

Li thium-ion battery packs, sold under the Fujitsu brand but supplied by Panasonic, pose a significant risk because if they overheat, they could burn consumers or cause a fire, the company said in a February 8 recall notice.

This popular brand of battery packs is being recalled due to fire hazard

The battery packs — almost 6,000 total — were sold as standalone products as well as inside a limited number of laptops throughout the United States and Canada from August 2012 through July 2015, Fujitsu says on its website. "Under certain conditions, it is possible for these batteries packs may, in rare instances ignite and result in fire," the company says.

The Fujitsu PC laptops involved in this recall are: CELSIUS H720, LIFEBOOK E752, LIFEBOOK P701, LIFEBOOK P702, LIFEBOOK P770, LIFEBOOK P771, LIFEBOOK P772, LIFEBOOK S752, LIFEBOOK S762 and LIFEBOOK T580, the company says.

The battery pack parts numbers affected by the recall are CP556150-01 and CP556150-02, the company said.

What to do if you have the recalled battery pack

For those users who discover that they have the affected battery pack, the company gives this guidance: “If your battery pack is included in this recall, users are advised to continue using their Fujitsu PC safely only after turning the system off, ejecting the battery pack, and using the AC adapter and power cord originally supplied with the device to power the system until their replacement battery pack is received.”

Affected consumers can call Fujitsu at 800- 835-4878 or 800-8FUJITSU between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. CT Monday to Friday. A new battery will be sent to you, the company says.

Also, you can go to Fujitsu's domestic website and refer to their FAQ section, where more questions about recalls are answered.