Ikea offers free fix for deadly drawers after two toddlers fatally pinned

THE Swedish furniture giant is in a race against time to prevent another tragedy after two toddlers in the US were crushed by the same model of drawers.

Ikea to open in the Sydney Business Park at Marsden Park.

THE deaths of two toddlers in separate incidents in the United States have forced Ikea to issue repair kits for millions of drawer units before tragedy strikes again.

The Swedish furniture giant is giving away free wall anchor repair kits to anyone who bought the Malm chest of drawers, which can tip over if not properly secured to the wall.

The Malm range is sold in Australian Ikea stores and each product comes with restraints that attach the dresser or drawer to the wall.

But authorities fear consumers don’t use them, even though they’re urged to.

In February 2014, two-year-old Curren Collas from West Chester, Pennsylvania died after a Malm six-drawer chest tipped over and fatally pinned him against his bed.

Horror story ... Curren Collas, aged 2, was killed when a Malm dresser pinned him to his bed.

But it is not only the taller models in the range that America’s Consumer Product Safety Commission is worried about. It warns the shorter, three-drawer model is also a death trap.

In June 2014, a 23-month old child from Snohomish, Washington died after he became trapped beneath a three-drawer Malm chest that tipped over.

Neither chest had been secured to the wall even though the furniture was sold with the anchoring kits.

According to CPSA data, one American child is killed every fortnight by falling furniture.

‘Must be fixed to the wall’ ... Instructions on Ikea.com.au make it clear the chest needs to be secured.

An Ikea spokeswoman in Australia said customers who had misplaced the tip-over restraints could collect a replacement kit at their local store.

“Product safety is the highest priority for Ikea and Ikea chests and dressers are safe when attached to the wall, as directed in the assembly instructions,” the spokeswoman said.

Ikea and CPSC have received 14 reports of tip-over incidents involving Malm chests, resulting in four injuries. Since 1989, Ikea is aware of three additional reports of deaths from tip-overs involving other models of Ikea chests and dressers.

The repair program includes seven million Malm chests and around 20 million other pieces of Ikea furniture in the United States.