After receiving reports of two children, including a boy from West Chester, who died when dressers tipped over and fell on them, IKEA and The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced Wednesday a repair program to make the chests safer.
The program will include a free wall anchoring kit for the MALM three- and four-drawer chests and two styles of MALM six-drawer chests and other chests and dressers. The chests and dressers are at risk of tipping over if they are not securely anchored to the wall, according to a news release from the CPSC.
A 2-year-old boy from West Chester died in February 2014 after an MALM six-drawer chest (just over 48 inches high) tipped over and fatally pinned him against his bed. IKEA and CPSC also received a report of a 23-month-old child from Snohomish, Washington, who died after he became trapped beneath a 30-inch-high, three-drawer MALM chest that tipped over.
About 7 million MALM chests and 20 million other IKEA chests and dressers are included in the nationwide repair program.
"CPSC and IKEA are urging consumers to inspect their IKEA chests and dressers to ensure that they are securely anchored to the wall," the release said. "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."
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 data.
To receive a free wall anchoring kit, visit an IKEA retail store, order online or call (888) 966-4532.