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Children's deaths ignite massive Ikea dresser recall

Reports of children killed last year is prompting the Swedish furniture seller to provide consumers with wall-mount kits to stop dressers from flipping over on children.

July 23, 2015

Swedish furniture maker Ikea is offering consumers free wall anchors to help ensure chest of drawers can be secured to walls.

The wall anchor giveaway comes as Ikea initiates a massive recall of 27 million dressers after several dressers fell on children.

The company isn’t asking buyers to return the furniture but to instead bolt the pieces to the wall to prevent injuries and the potential to tip over.

It’s opened a website, called Secure it!, and is spreading news of the free wall mounts through several social outlets including Facebook and Twitter.

The chests being recalled are the Malm three-, four- and six-drawer pieces, all IKEA children’s chests and dressers taller than 23.5 inches and all adult chests and dressers taller than 29.5 inches.

“The affected chests and dressers can tip over if not attached to the wall, using the hardware provided, posing an entrapment hazard,” stated Ikea in a press announcement, noting it, as well as the U.S. Consumer Protection Safety Commissionm had received reports in 2014m of two children who died after MALM chests tipped over and fell on them. Neither chest had been secured to the wall.

“Since 1989, IKEA is aware of reports of three additional deaths from tip-overs involving other models of IKEA chests and dressers. We urge customers to inspect their IKEA chests and dressers to ensure that they are securely anchored to the wall. Consumers should move unanchored chests and dressers into storage or other areas where they cannot be accessed by children until the chests and dressers are properly anchored to the wall,” the release stated.

A child dies every two weeks and a child is injured every 24 minutes in the U.S. from furniture or TVs tipping over, according to CPSC release. To help prevent injuries and deaths, CPSC and IKEA urge consumers to securely anchor furniture and TVs to prevent these tragedies and make their home a safer place. For more information, visit www.AnchorIt.gov and www.IKEA-USA.com/saferhomestogether.

The agency stated it received a report that in February 2014, of a 2-year-old boy from West Chester, Pa. who died after a MALM 6-drawer chest (just over 48 inches high) tipped over and fatally pinned him against his bed. Another report in June 2014, was about a 23-month old child from Snohomish, Washington, who died after he became trapped beneath a three-drawer (30.75  inches high) MALM chest that tipped over. Neither chest had been secured to the wall.  IKEA and CPSC have also received 14 reports of tip-over incidents involving MALM chests, resulting in four injuries.

The MALM chests that are part of the repair program were sold starting in 2002. The price of the chests range from about $80 to $200.