Death Of Two Children Prompts IKEA To Issue Free Wall Anchor Kits For 27 Mil Chests, Dressers

If you have IKEA furniture in your home, the company’s warning about the safety of certain dressers and chests is an important one. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), at least 27 million chests and dressers are part of a corrective action after two children were crushed to death after the retailer’s MALM chests fell on them.

According to CNBC, the chests and dressers can tip over if not properly anchored to the wall. The CPSC is advising anyone who has one or more of the dressers or chests listed below to stop using them until they obtain a free wall anchoring kit from IKEA.

Approximately 7 million MALM chests are part of the corrective action taken by the company, as well as 20 million other chests and dressers sold by the company. Find more information on the chests and how to get a free anchor kit below.

The two children who died in 2014 when IKEA’s MALM chests fell, but it’s not the first time deaths have been reported that involve other models of the retailers chests and dressers. USA Today reports that there were three additional deaths from tipping IKEA furniture since 1989. In addition to the deaths, there have been at least 14 reports of the dressers tipping over, which led to four known injuries.

One of the most recent deaths happened in February, 2014, when a 2-year-old Pennsylvania boy was pinned against his bed after a 6-drawer MALM chest tipped over, and another 2-year-old child from Washington, who died in June, 2014, after getting trapped under a 3-drawer MALM chest.

Not only is IKEA’s popular MALM chest one that will need the free wall anchor kit, it is asking consumers to stop using any of the company’s children’s chests or dressers that are more than 23.5-inches tall. The company also requests that people stop using all adult chests and dressers higher than 29.5? tall unless they are properly anchored to the wall.

Consumers can fill out a request for a free anchor kit on the IKEA website — no proof of purchase or a visit to the store necessary. The company recommends the R1 Kit for adult dressers over 29.5? and children’s dressers over 23? tall. Anyone who owns a Stockholm, Busunge, Nordli or Stuva series chest will need different anchors and should request the R2 kit.

The CSPC reports that a child dies every two weeks, and an injury happens every 24 minutes, when furniture or a television tips over on top of them. IKEA is currently providing free wall anchor kits for their products, but your local hardware store should be able to recommend an anchor kit that will work on the dresser or chest that is currently in your house.

[Image: IKEA]