In 1996, Lane Cedar Chest issued a recall for an in home replacement of the locks on some of their cedar chests; due to the latches automatically catching. Children hiding in these chest would become trapped and suffocate. The company did a voluntary recall of the latches.

The cedar chest affected were produced prior to 1987.

Unfortunately, not every one responded to this and it now appears that there have been a couple more casualties from this known issue. The Lane Furniture Company has once again announced the recall. (The first recall was issued in 1996, the second in 2000 and again this year.)

If you have a Lane Cedar Chest that was produced BEFORE 1987 and have not replaced the latches, please do it now. It will cost you nothing but a few moments of your time and perhaps a lot of heartache in the future. Please contact the company and they will send you out the lock. (Lane Cedar Chests have serial numbers on them, so if you received yours as an inheritance or bought it somewhere, it doesn’t hurt to call the company. They will let you know if the latch has been replaced and if it does, they will send you what you need to fix it.)

Consumers can determine whether their chest has an old lock by closing the chest lid without depressing the locking button and then attempting to open the lid without touching the button. If the lid opens, the chest has the new lock and does not need to be replaced. If the lid does not open, it has the old lock. Additionally, old locks click loudly when the lid is shut, locking the chest automatically.

Contact:

Firm’s Hotline:(800) 327-6944
CPSC Consumer Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908
Firm’s Contact: Anne Riechers (636) 686-7588

Release #96-186

To read the article posted by The US Consumer Product Safety Commission, please go here.