Ikea Canada issues safety recall for wide range of chests of drawers after kids killed in US

BURLINGTON, Ont. – Ikea has issued a Canadian recall notice for millions of chests of drawers that can tip over — a safety hazard that has been linked to the deaths of six children in the United States over several years as well as dozens of injuries.

The Swedish furniture multinational says it will repair or pay a refund for chests of drawers that don’t meet North American safety standards.

Among the chests of drawers are those from the popular Malm line. Three children in the US were killed in the past two years when the dressers tipped over onto them.

Ikea issued a repair kit last year that would secure the dressers to the wall, but now says further action is needed.

• Click here for a full list of furniture affected by the recall

 

Ikea urges customers to stop using the chests of drawers affected by the wide recall and put them out of the reach of children until the furniture can be secured to a wall.

Customers who cannot secure the furniture to a wall are advised to bring the pieces back to any Ikea location for a refund.

Chests and dressers manufactured between January 2002 and June 2016 are qualified for a full refund. Furniture made before 2002 may be eligible for a partial store credit.

Ikea says the recall affects about half the models of chests that it has sold over the years. But it adds that all products currently in stores and for sale online do fully meet the current standard.

Ikea Canada’s move is part of a recall of 29 million chests and dressers across the United States and Canada.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Tuesday that all six of the children killed by tipped furniture were three years old or younger. One of the children was killed about 27 years ago. The other deaths were more recent, between 2002 and 2016. The CPSC said it has received 36 reports of children who were injured by the furniture.

The company says there have been no serious incidents reported in Canada.