Tulsa World: Government issues record 2.1 million recall for dropside cribs

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Government issues record 2.1 million recall for dropside cribs

This undated handout photo provided by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, shows a drop-side crib by Stork Craft Manufacturing of Canada. More than 2.1 million drop-side cribs by Stork Craft Manufacturing of Canada are being recalled following reports of four infant suffocations. The CPSC said the recall involves 1.2 million cribs in the United States and almost 1 million in Canada, where Stork Craft is based. AP Photo

By JENNIFER C. KERR Associated Press Writer
Published: 11/24/2009 5:48 AM
Last Modified: 11/24/2009 11:47 AM

WASHINGTON — More than 2.1 million drop-side cribs by Stork Craft Manufacturing are being recalled, the biggest crib recall in U.S history, following reports of four infant suffocations.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said late Monday the recall involves 1.2 million cribs in the United States and almost 1 million in Canada, where Stork Craft is based. Sales of the cribs being recalled go back to 1993.

Nearly 150,000 of the cribs carry the Fisher-Price logo.

The CPSC said it is aware of four infants who suffocated in the drop-side cribs, which have a side that moves up and down to allow parents to lift children from the cribs more easily. The agency also said there have been 110 incidents of drop-sides detaching from the cribs.

The Stork Craft cribs have had problems with their hardware, which can break, deform or become missing after years. CPSC said there can also be problems with assembly mistakes by the crib owner. These problems can cause the drop-side to detach, creating a dangerous space between the drop-side and the crib mattress, where a child can become trapped.

The commission is urging parents to stop using the cribs until receiving a free repair kit from Stork Craft. The kit will convert the drop-side into a fixed side.

The cribs, which were manufactured and distributed between January 1993 and October 2009, were sold at major retailers including BJ's Wholesale Club, Sears and Wal-Mart stores and online through Target and Costco. They sold for between $100 and $400, and were made in Canada, China and Indonesia.

Calls to Stork Craft were not immediately returned.

This is the second big recall this year for the company. It recalled about 500,000 cribs in January because of problems with the metal brackets that support the mattress. Some of the same models in the earlier recall were also part of Monday's announcement, CPSC said.

Consumer advocates have complained for years about drop-side cribs. More than 5 million of them have been recalled over the past two years alone — recalls that were associated with the deaths of a dozen young children.

ASTM International, an organization that sets voluntary industry safety standards for everything from toys to the steel used in commercial buildings, approved a new standard last week that requires four immovable, or fixed, sides for full-size cribs — essentially eliminating the manufacture of drop-side cribs.

CPSC is also considering new rules for making cribs safer and could adopt the ASTM voluntary standard as a mandatory one, outright banning the cribs.

Nancy Cowles, executive director of Chicago-based Kids In Danger, said the agency must include more rigorous testing for crib durability. "Parents should be able to trust that their child is safe in their crib," said Cowles.

Toys"R''Us started phasing out drop-side cribs earlier this year and will no longer carry them next month.

In the Stork Craft recall, the manufacture date, model number, crib name, country of origin, and the firm's name, address and contact information are located on the assembly instruction sheet attached to the mattress support board. The firm's insignia "storkcraft baby" or "storkling" is inscribed on the drop-side teething rail of some cribs.

Consumers can contact the company, 877-274-0277, to order the free repair kit, or log on to www.storkcraft.com.

On the Net:

Consumer Product Safety Commission: http://www.cpsc.gov

By JENNIFER C. KERR Associated Press Writer

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	Report Comment r0rschach, (11/24/2009 7:48:19 AM) now if Australia would just recall all dropbear cribs they could stamp out their national scourge.
	Report Comment Dr. Strangelove, Las Vegas (11/24/2009 8:12:38 AM) All the baby cribs we ever had were built like guillotines. Heck I even hurt myself putting them together.
	Report Comment Mar, Tulsa (11/24/2009 9:56:13 AM) My oldest son was born in 1967 and we had a drop-down crib, that is the only kind I used for my other two sons. Though the majority of the time I didn't drop down the side to get the babies in and out of the crib. I'm amazed that after 40+ years they are just now realizing that there may be a danger. At any rate, regardless what type of crib is used, one must always check on the baby while it is asleep.
	Report Comment KYCane, Crestwood (11/24/2009 10:20:35 AM) I wonder if this version of Cribs will be on MTV?
	Report Comment parksport, (11/24/2009 11:08:39 AM) It seems these types of cribs have been in use for many years without me ever realizing how dangerous they were except for sometimes pinching my hands.
	Report Comment pirate, Mannford (11/24/2009 11:29:48 AM) We need to quit buying stuff from substandard countries like China. Bring it back to the USA and have real inspections. Mothers have been complaining about these for years.
	Report Comment Swarm, (11/24/2009 12:06:21 PM) Turn ur USA flags upside down cause we are in distress can't even get baby cribs or sheetrock right and they want to fix health care. Mandatory Physical Readiness tests for everybody in Administration. Can't pass PRT not fit to serve our country; ur fired! Get ride of half of them right there!
	Report Comment fld11, (11/24/2009 1:41:59 PM) This is the same government that can't manage social security, the so called war, medicare, the postal service, etc. Why would anyone trust anything that comes from these government hacks in any department?

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