Recall: Toy Chests for In-Home Repair

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 12, 1998 Release # 98-055

Company Phone Number: (800) 347-8372 CPSC Consumer Hotline: (800) 638-2772 CPSC Media Contact: Nychelle Fleming, (301) 504-7063

CPSC, Step 2 Announce Recall of Toy Chests for In-Home Repair

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Step 2 Company of Streetsboro, Ohio, is recalling about 350,000 Big Storage Chests for in-home repair of their lids. The lids of the toy chests can fall down onto a young child's head or neck, which could result in the child being entrapped and possibly strangled.

CPSC and Step 2 are aware of 16 incidents where the lid fell onto a child's head or neck causing some minor injuries, such as scratches and bruised necks. The Step 2 Big Storage ChestsTM are made of white plastic with a blue lid and have red handles at the top ends. The chests measure 19 inches wide by 33 inches long by 23 inches high. The Step 2 logo is imprinted on the front of the chests just below the lid. The chests have model numbers 7511 or 7211, which are located on the packaging box.




Toys R Us, Kmart and other retailers nationwide sold the toy chests from February 1992 to November 1997 for about $40.

Consumers should immediately stop young children from using these toy chests, and call Step 2 for a free lid support kit. The repair kit will stop the lid from closing all the way until closed by an adult. To order the kit or get more information, call Step 2 at (800) 347-8372 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST Monday through Friday.