The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced recalls for two separate kids’ dressers following the deaths of three toddlers possibly resulting from the furniture falling on the children.

The concern in both cases is that children will open the dresser drawers to scale the furniture, causing it to become unbalanced and fall over, possibly trapping the child. The recalling companies will supply retrofit kits to help reduce the risk of the dressers tipping over. According to the CPSC, a child dies every two weeks as a result of falling furniture or TV sets.

All the recalled dressers had previously met safety standards. However, the industry accepted voluntary standards in 2009 that require tip-over restraints that attach to the interior wall, framing or other support be included with all dressers to help prevent tip-over entrapment hazards to young children.

Natart Chelsea Dressers
The first recall is for these dressers from Gemme Juvenile Inc., of Quebec. CPSC has received one report of a 2-year-old child in Illinois who reportedly suffocated when he climbed on or up an open lower drawer into the second dresser drawer, causing the dresser to fall and entrap him between the unit and the floor.

The specific recall involves the Chelsea three-drawer windowed dresser with the model number 3033. 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.

In addition, most dressers will have the model number, “Natart Juvenile,” “Made in Canada” and “Chelsea 3 Drawer Dresser” printed on another label located on the back of the dresser. The recalled dresser measures 35-inches high by 21- inches deep by 39- inches wide and is part of the Chelsea children’s bedroom furniture collection. The dresser is composed of engineered wood, solid wood and wood veneers. The top drawer has two clear plastic windows in front.

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

Free retrofit kits that contain wall anchor straps are being offered to consumers to help prevent the dresser from tipping. The kits can be ordered by visiting http://www.chelseawallanchors.com, e-mailing the firm at safety@chelseawallanchors.com or calling toll-free at (855) 364-2619 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday.

The CPSC advises that owners of these dressers should immediately stop using them and place them out of a child’s reach.

Million Dollar Baby “Emily” and “Ryan” Dressers
The second recall is for 18,000 dressers made by Million Dollar Baby (Bexco Enterprises) of California. CPSC has received two reports of deaths associated with these dressers — an 11-month-old in Oklahoma and a 20-month-old in California. Though the cause of death in these cases has not been determined, it’s believed the children may have suffocated after becoming trapped when their dressers fell over on them.

The specific dresser being recalled is the company’s “Emily” style four-drawer dressers with model numbers M4712, M4722, M4732 and M4742 and its similar “Ryan” dressers with the model M4733.

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 located on the back of the dresser. The recalled dresser measures 33-inches high by 20-inches deep by 40-inches wide and is a part of the DaVinci children’s bedroom furniture collection. The dressers are made from pine and wood composite.

These dressers were sold at JCPenney, Amazon, BabiesRus.com, BabyUniverse.com and other specialty and online retailers from January 2006 through June 2010 for between $230 and $300.

Million Dollar Baby is offering free retrofit kits with tip-over restraints to consumers who have older dressers. Included in the kit is an adhesive warning label that consumers are to attach to the dresser, which describes how to prevent tip-over injuries.

Consumers can contact Million Dollar Baby to receive a free retrofit kit that contains a wall anchor strap, which attaches to the dresser and wall to help prevent the dresser from tipping. The kits can be ordered by visiting the firm’s website at http://www.themdbfamily.com/safety2 and click on Safety HQ or call toll-free at (888) 673-6652 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday.

Again, the CPSC advises that consumers who have these dressers should immediately stop using them and keep them out of a child’s reach.

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