CPSC, Appliance Manufacturers Announce Voluntary Recall Initiative for Old Chest Freezers - A Deadly Play Area for Children
CPSC recall 01016. Recall date: . Last publish date of the CPSC notice: .
Hazard, in the words of CPSC
Although some manufacturers had freezers that were in compliance prior to the 1970 standards, most old chest freezers have latches that can trap a child. Children playing "hide-and-seek" have found the non-working freezers a deadly place to hide. When the lid closes, children can become trapped inside and suffocate - usually in less than ten minutes.
Remedy, in the words of CPSC
Consumers should properly dispose of these non-working freezers immediately or disable the latch, if disposal is impossible. Even if a consumer has a pre-1970 chest freezer that is working, they should still call the toll-free number to get information on what to do, when the freezer is no longer working.
CPSC recall 01016 has the recall date 24 Oct 2000. The notice names the firm The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) and its refrigerator/freezer manufacturing members. The recall has about 9,000,000 units. The median CPSC recall of 2000 has 31,000 units. This register puts the recall under the hazard Suffocation. CPSC gives the product type Freezers.
Federal law prohibits any person from selling products subject to a Commission ordered recall or a voluntary recall undertaken in consultation with the CPSC.
CPSC publishes these words. Source: CPSC recall notices, section About the U.S. CPSC, read on . The hazard, the remedy and the incident text on this site are the words of the CPSC recall notice. Newest CPSC recall on the register: .
More of the notice
The hazard and the remedy are at the top of the page. Each quotation is the text of CPSC.
| Incidents and injuries | Tragically, 27 children have died from suffocation between 1980 and 1999 after becoming trapped in the freezers. The deaths occurred in non-working freezers stored outside, in basements or garages. Victims ranged in age from two to fourteen. In many cases, more than one child suffocated inside the freezer. |
|---|---|
| Units | 9,000,000 |
| Description | The freezers that are part of this program were made before 1970 by more than 40 manufacturers, a number of whom do not exist today. Consumers can determine if their chest freezer poses a hazard by trying to open the freezer without using the handle. If the freezer can be opened by pulling up on sides of the lid, it is not a hazard. If the lid only opens by using the handle, it needs to be properly disposed of or disabled. Up to 9 million chest freezers were manufactured between 1945 and 1970 before voluntary safety standards went into effect, allowing freezers to be opened from the inside. The freezers that are part of this program were made before 1970 by more than 40 manufacturers, a number of whom do not exist today. Consumers can determine if their chest freezer poses a hazard by trying to open the freezer without using the handle. If the freezer can be opened by pulling up on sides of the lid, it is not a hazard. If the lid only opens by using the handle, it needs to be properly disposed of or disabled. |
| Product | Chest freezers, Up to 9 million, Freezers |
| Sold at | The recalled bunk beds were sold through Pottery Barn Furniture Outlets in Leesburg, Va.; Memphis, Tenn.; Dawsonville, Ga.; and Jeffersonville, Ohio; and nationwide, through the Pottery Barn Kids catalog, from September 1999 through July 2000, for about $1,100. |
| Manufacturer | The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) and its refrigerator/freezer manufacturing members |
Recall notice: The page that CPSC publishes for one recall of a consumer product. It states the product, the hazard, the remedy and the incidents.
Hazard: The way a product can cause harm, in the words of the CPSC recall notice. This site also puts each recall under short hazard names.
Remedy: What the manufacturer or the firm does about a recalled product. The agency record states the remedy of each recall.
Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.
The recall in context
- Units in this recall
- 9,000,000Median of 2000: 31,000
- CPSC recalls of 2000
- 191
- Recalls of 2000 with one of the same hazards
- 4%
- Recalls of 2000 in the category Freezers
- 1%
- Recalls on the register that name The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) and its refrigerator/freezer manufacturing members
- 1
Official channels
- CPSC recall notice 01016The notice on the CPSC site, with the pictures and the contact of the firm.
- CPSC recallsThe list of all recall notices on the CPSC site.
- SaferProducts.govThe CPSC site for a report about a consumer product.
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Cite this page
Recall Register. CPSC recall 01016. https://recallregister.com/product/159-cpsc-appliance-manufacturers-announce-voluntary-recall-initiative-for/. Source: CPSC Recall Retrieval Web Services. Data through .
Sources
- Source
- US Consumer Product Safety Commission
- Licence
- US government work, public domain
- Data retrieved
- 30 Sep 2026
- Newest CPSC recall on the register
- 24 Sep 2026
The CPSC notice is the authority. The hazard names come from the hazard text of CPSC. The category is the product type that CPSC gives. How the register is made. Report an error.
Questions
- Does CPSC recall 01016 report injuries?
- The CPSC notice says:
Tragically, 27 children have died from suffocation between 1980 and 1999 after becoming trapped in the freezers. The deaths occurred in non-working freezers stored outside, in basements or garages. Victims ranged in age from two to fourteen. In many cases, more than one child suffocated inside the freezer.
- Where was the product sold?
- The CPSC notice says:
The recalled bunk beds were sold through Pottery Barn Furniture Outlets in Leesburg, Va.; Memphis, Tenn.; Dawsonville, Ga.; and Jeffersonville, Ohio; and nationwide, through the Pottery Barn Kids catalog, from September 1999 through July 2000, for about $1,100.
- How many units are in CPSC recall 01016?
- The CPSC notice gives this number:
Up to 9 million