All old, refrigerators with self-latching mechanisms should immediately be made child-proof, warns the CPSC. The Commission has received a recent report of the deaths of two young cousins, a boy age 3 and a girl age 4 from suffocation in an abandoned refrigerator in Berkeley Township, New Jersey.
These deaths are the latest additions to the tragic number of 96 children's deaths from refrigerator entrapments CPSC has recorded since 1973. Multiple deaths are common. Six of the 8 deaths in 1983 occurred when two youngsters died together in the same refrigerator on 3 different occasions.
Consumers can take the following positive steps to prevent these needless deaths in old refrigerators:
- Take off the doors.
- If the door is difficult to remove, chain and padlock it closed.
- Disable the old-fashioned self-latching mechanism so it won't catch.
- Screw wooden blocks to the doors to prevent closing. Leave shelves in the unit to discourage children from playing inside.
- Call local authorities to remove, and safely dispose of any abandoned refrigerator on public property.
All refrigerators marketed since October 30, 1958 (effective date of the Refrigerator Safety Act Regulations) require a mechanism, such as a magnet, permitting a child to push open the door if it accidentally closes. This requirement makes it easy to identify the old self-latching refrigerators distributed before that date.
Anyone wishing additional information may contact the toll free Hotline at 800-638-CPSC. A teletypewriter number for the hearing-impaired is (800) 638-8270.
About the U.S. CPSC
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risk of injury associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product-related incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. Since the CPSC was established more than 50 years ago, it has worked to ensure the safety of consumer products, which has contributed to a decline in injuries associated with these products.
Federal law prohibits any person from selling products subject to a Commission ordered recall or a voluntary recall undertaken in consultation with the CPSC.
For lifesaving information:
- Visit CPSC.gov.
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- Report a dangerous product or a product-related injury on www.SaferProducts.gov.
- Call CPSC’s Hotline at 800-638-2772 (TTY 800-638-8270).
- Contact a media specialist.
Please use the below phone number for all media requests.
Phone: (301) 504-7908
Spanish: (301) 504-7800