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CPSC Warns Consumers of Bunk Bed Entrapment Hazard and Mattress Support

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CPSC Document #5007

009611

CPSC is aware of deaths to children under

age six that involved head entrapment

under bunk bed guard rails. To reduce the

risk of your child slipping feet first into the

space between the lower edge of a

guardrail and the top surface of the

mattress, CPSC advises:

 1. Never allow children under 6 yearsold on the upper bunk.

 2. Close the space between the lower

edge of the guardrail and upper edge

of the bedframe to 3-1/2 inches or

less.

In addition, CPSC received reports that

children, primarily age one and under, died

when they became entrapped between the

bed and the wall. A guardrail placed next to

the wall, on the lower bunk as well as the

upper bunk, will help reduce this risk of

entrapment.

CPSC is also aware of young children who

died when their bunk bed mattress and

mattress foundation collapsed while they

were playing on or under the beds.

Mattresses and/or foundations resting only

on ledges need fastened cross wires, or

other means of support to help prevent

dislodgement, even when beds are used as

twin beds.

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This document is in the public domain. It may be reproduced without change in part or whole by an individual or

organization without permission. If it is reproduced, however, the Commission would appreciate knowing how it is

used. Write the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Office of Information and Public Affairs, 4330 East West

Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814 or send an e-mail via CPSC's On-Line Form.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of

serious injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. The CPSC is

committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical

hazard. The CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette

lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated

with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's

teletypewriter at (301) 595-7054, or visit CPSC's web site at www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. To join a CPSC email

subscription list, please go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx. Consumers can obtain this release and recall

information at CPSC's Web site at www.cpsc.gov.

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