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Consumer Product Safety Alert:
CPSC Warns About
Child Entrapment in
Household Appliances
And Picnic Coolers
Source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commssion
The U. S. Consumer Product
Safety Commission (CPSC)
has received reports
of numerous suffocation
deaths involving children
who crawled inside latch
type freezers, clothes
dryers, combination
washer/dryer units,
picnic coolers, ice
boxes in campers, and
oldstyle latch type
refrigerators. Most
of the victims were
four to seven years
old. In all cases, the
doors could not be easily
pushed open from the
inside. In some of the
incidents associated
with clothes dryers,
the appliance was accidentally
turned on while the
child was inside.
Frequently,
the children were playing "hide-and-seek"
and
the appliance or chest
provided a deceptively
good place to hide.
When the door slammed
shut, the tight fitting
gasket on most of the
appliances cut off air
to the child.This, along
with the insulated construction
of the appliance, also
prevented the child's
screams from being heard.
But abandoned appliances
are not the only items
involved with accidents
like these. Entrapment
deaths have been reported
in products in use or
stored in the kitchen,
laundry room, basement,
or garage. Deaths also
have occurred in ice
boxes located in campers
parked outside the home.
For the past forty years,
the Federal Refrigerator
Safety Act has required
that refrigerators be
capable of being opened
from the inside.
Since then, manufacturers
of various other appliances
have vo l u n t a ri
l y redesigned their
products to provide
safety doors or interlock
devices that help prevent
entrapment accidents.
However, there are still
some appliances in the
home that do not have
these safety features.
The CPSC recommends
that you identify appliances
or ice chests in your
house, garage or recreational
vehicles, which may
present an entrapment
hazard, and:
-
Childproof
old-style refrigerators
and other appliances
which are to be discarded
or are in storage. The
surest method is to
take off the door completely
and in most cases this
is a simple process
using a screwdriver.
(It is unlawful in many
local jurisdictions
to discard old refrigerators
without first removing
the door.) If the door
will not come off, remove
or disable the latch
completely so the door
will no longer lock
when closed. A third alternative is to fasten
the door shut so it
cannot be opened. (A
chain and padlock can
be used
if the chain
can be secured through
the handles so it will
not slide off. Strong
filament tape wrapped
around the appliance
several times may be
used temporarily.
However, tape may deteriorate
over time and need replacement.)
-
Keep children away
from old-style refrigerators,
freezers, dryers or
coolers still in use.
Lock the door to your
utility room and warn
children not to play
inside these appliances.
- If a child is missing,
these appliances and
picnic coolers should
be among the first places
checked. A few minutes
may save the child's
life. To report an unsafe
product or a product
related injury, consumers
may call the U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission's
tollfree hotline number,
1-800-638- 2772.
CPSC
has received reports
of numerous suffocation
deaths of children who
crawled inside these
appliances or picnic
coolers and could not
easily escape. Frequently
the children were playing
hide-and-seek when one
child climbed into the
applicance or picnic
cooler. If a child is
missing, these appliances
should be among the
first places checked.
Take the doors off those
appliances not in use.
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