Storage Chest Alert

Do you have an old wooden storage chest lying around your home? Maybe, it’s in an attic? Maybe, you’ve put it in your child’s room?

Storage Chest AlertRecently, two Boston-area children tragically died while playing hide and seek in a chest. The children reportedly climbed into a Lane hope chest that latched shut automatically. There was no way to open the airtight chest from the inside.

CPSC is investigating the deaths of the children.

Lane Cedar Chests were first recalled in 1996. The recall involves 12 million “Lane” and “Virginia Maid”-brand cedar chests made between 1912 and 1987. This recall is still active. Lane renewed its search for hazardous chests in March 2000, upon learning of another death and two near deaths.

If you have one of these chests, Lane wants you to know that they are still providing new, latches and locks that prevent children from being trapped inside the chest. Contact the company to request a new latch/lock. While you await the arrival of the new hardware, remove the existing hardware set from your chest. Don’t take a chance that this could happen to a child in your life.

To get replacement hardware for your Lane or Virginia Maid storage chest free of charge, contact the company at http://www.lanefurniture.com/. CPSC has received reports of 34 child deaths since 1996 in chests, including toy chests, cedar chests, cedar trunks, hope chests, blanket chests, storage benches, storage trunks and cedar boxes. Lane cedar chests were not involved in all of these deaths.

If you own any type of chest or storage trunk that is not part of the recall, disable or remove the lock or latch that secures the lid.

 

 

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