Ikea Offers Free Wall Anchor Kit For Chests, Dressers After Two Children Died
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Ikea, following separate reports of two children who died after chests tipped over and fell on them, is offering free wall anchoring repair kits to secure the pieces to the wall.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is asking consumers to immediately stop using the Ikea chests and dressers until they are anchored to the wall. The pieces can pose a tip-over hazard when not anchored.
About 7 million MALM chests and 20 million other Ikea chests and dressers are part of the nationwide repair program.
In February 2014, Ikea and CPSC received a report of a 2-year-old boy from West Chester, PA who died after a 6-drawer chest tipped over and fatally pinned him against his bed. Also, in June 2014, a 23-month-old child from Washington died after he became trapped beneath a 3-drawer MALM chest. In both incidents neither of the furniture pieces were secured to the wall.
Ikea and CPSC have also received 14 reports of tip-over incidents involving the chests—four of which resulted in injury. Since 1989, Ikea is aware of three additional reports of deaths from tip-overs with other models of chests and dressers.
The repair program includes a free wall anchoring kit for Ikea's MALM 3 and 4-drawer chests and two styles of MALM 6-drawer chests, as well as other chests and dressers.
The furniture retailer and CPSC are urging consumers to inspect their Ikea chests and dressers to ensure they are securely anchored.
To receive a free wall anchoring kit, visit an IKEA retail store, go to www.IKEA-USA.com/saferhomestogether, or call (888) 966-4532. For more information, click here.
According to CPSC data, a child dies every two weeks and a child is injured every 24 minutes in the U.S. from furniture or TVs tipping over. For more information, visitwww.AnchorIt.gov
