Evening star., 1953-08-16
DC. Plans Law
Against Death
Trap Iceboxes
City Will Follow
Lead of a Stutes
To Protect Children

law dBdlIlSL Q1SCdIulIlS TeIrlRerd- .
tors without removing the doors
and similar measures are being
sought in other States as the
toll Of child deaths rises from
entrapment in these backyard
coff1ns," a survey showed last
night.
A city ordinance patterned on
these laws is being drafted by
the District Health Departments S
Bureau of Public Health Engi-
neering and is expected to reach
the Commissioners by mid-week.
Corporation Counsel Vernon
West and Director William H.
Cayr, jr., of Public Health Engi-
neering both said they believed
a ban on iceboxes discarded with
out removal doors could be ac-
complished by regulation and a
new law would not be needed.
If a law is required to take
care of the hazard, Representa-
tive Broyhill, Republican, of
Virginia, has announced he will
introduce measure for the Dis
trict in January.
Called Serious Hazard.
In the past few days, II chill
dren in Massachusetts. Virginia
and Arkansas have Suffocated in
abandoned ice boxes. c. w. Phil
lips, president of the Refrigera-
ton Trade Association of Amer
lea, which has been carrying on
an all-State drive for protective
laws, estimated yesterday that
100 children have been killed by
entrapment in ice boxes in the
past few years.
A similar estimate came from
the Air-Conditioning and Re-
frigeration Institute, which re-
ported that the Refrigeration
Service Engineers Society OF
Chicago has collected reports on
approximately 100 deaths Of chill
dren, ranging in age from 2 to
10.
when you stop to consider
that the 100 cases referred to are
only a small percentage of the
actual deaths" the institute
added, "you will realize how Sc
rious is this hazard to the lives
of our children"
The Refrigeration Trade ASso-
citation, in a letter to the Secre-
tary of the Senate of each State,
explained:
THE cause Of these deaths
can be easily removed by making
it mandatory that lids and doors
be removed from these discarded
or abandoned air-tight enclos-
ures. The legislature of your
State can aid materially by CIV
ing the policeman on the beat
the required authority necessary
to empower him to have owners
of lots or structures within which,
or upon which,, abandoned re-
frigerators, home freezers or ice
boxes are found to remove the
lids and doors from these de-
vices"
The association said such a Law
also would give every refrigera-
ton contractor and service me-
chanic a chance to ask each
owner of such equipment to per-
init the mechanic to remove lids
and doors from the replaced de-
vices before they are abandoned
Mr.. Cary said he thought the
proposed ordinance here should
be made a part of the police reg
ulations. He added that HI
thought it should apply to al
| discarded air-tight chests which
have locking devices on the out
side and no device for unlocking
on the inside.
Must Alert Parents.
He said he thought 1t could bt
approved quickly-perhaps with
out the necessity for a public
hearing-because II can't SET
why anyone would object to II
when the need is so obvious"
To supplement such an ordi'
nance, he said he thought
warning to parents should bt
carried in the health educa-
ton leaflet distributed annually
through the schools.
"a regulation will take care Of
the ones abandoned outside" he
explained, "but no outsider i:
going to see the ones that chill
dren could crawl into in theil
own Easements. The parents
have to be alerted about those
The States which already have
an ice box law on their books in
clude California, Massachusetts
Nevada and New Jersey. Similar
laws were reported pending in
Nebraska, North Dakota anC
Pennsylvania.
Police Canvass Ordered.
In Baltimore, Delegate Albert
L. Sklar said yesterday he will
introduce bill in the next
Maryland legislature to make il
unlawful to discard an iceboS
without first removing the
hinges. At the same time, In
spector Joseph H. Itzel issued
orders to Baltimore police tt
start a yard-by-yard canvass tt
locate abandoned ice boxes anc
notify owners to remove the
hinges or lockssfrom them.
In Richmond. Mayor E. E
Haddock announced he will ask
the city council tomorrow tC
adopt an ordinance against the
abandonment of ice boxes ano
refrigerators that might become
death traps for children.
Several members Of the Vir-
ginia Legislature from the Rich
mond area said they would pro-
pose a similar measure for State
enactment. Roanoke (Va.)
police began rigid enforcement
of the city's ice-box law, passed
last year, and at West Point, Va.
the American Legion proposed
resolution asking the General