Dressers linked to toddler deaths recalled

Heath E. Combs -- Furniture Today, January 31, 2013

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced voluntary recalls by two suppliers of children's dressers that pose tip-over hazards.

Three toddlers died in incidents involving the dressers, the agency reported.

In both recalls, the CPSC reported that the weight of a young child climbing on open dresser drawers can cause it to become unstable. The items can tip over and entrap children, who can be injured or suffocated under a fallen dresser's weight.

Both companies are offering free retrofit kits with tip-over restraints that attach to a wall with an anchor strap.

Bexco Enterprises Inc., which does business as Million Dollar Baby of Montebello, Calif., is recalling 18,000 children's four-drawer dressers involving its Emily model numbers M4712, M4722, M4732 and M4742 and similar Ryan model M4733 dresser.

The dressers were sold in five finishes: Cherry, Ebony, Espresso, Honey Oak and White. The model number, "Million Dollar Baby" and "MADE IN TAIWAN" are printed on a label on the back of the dresser.

The recalled dressers were sold at JCPenney, juvenile specialty stores nationwide and online at Amazon.com, BabiesRUs.com, BabyUniverse.com and other online retailers from January 2006 through June 2010 for $230 to $300.

CPSC and Million Dollar Baby have received two reports of deaths associated with the dressers, reportedly from suffocation when the dressers tipped over. The CPSC release added that the cause of the deaths has not been determined.

The second recall was announced to retrofit 300 children's Chelsea model number 3033 three-drawer dressers from Gemme Juvenile of Princeville, Quebec.

The dressers were sold in five finishes: cappuccino, cappuccino with a brown top, ebony, ebony with a brown top, and antique or French white. A sticker with the word "Natart" and the firm's logo is affixed to the inside of the top drawer.

The company received a report of a two-year-old boy suffocating when he climbed on or up an open lower drawer into the second dresser drawer, causing the dresser to fall and entrap him.

The dressers were sold at Furniture Kidz and other independent juvenile specialty stores and at Baby.com from January 2005 to December 2010 for between $600 and $900.

Consumers can obtain free retrofit kits with tip-over restraints from the companies.

The Million Dollar Baby kits can be ordered by visiting the firm's website at www.themdbfamily.com/safety2 and click on Safety HQ or by calling toll-free at (888) 673-6652 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific time Monday through Friday.

The Gemme Juvenile kits can be ordered by visiting www.chelseawallanchors.com, www.NatartJuvenile.com, or by e-mailing the firm at safety@chelseawallanchors.com or calling toll-free at (855) 364-2619 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. eastern time, Monday through Friday.

The CPSC said that every two weeks a child dies from a tip-over hazard and advises that all televisions and furniture in homes be anchored.