NEWS from CPSC

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

El Rancho Furniture/Seffi Industries Recalls Wooden Bunk Beds

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), El Rancho Furniture of Lutts, Tenn., now owned by Seffi Industries Inc. of Charlotte, N.C., is recalling approximately 10,000-14,000 wooden bunk beds after a two-year-old child died in Lake Worth, Fla., when his head got caught between the mattress and the guardrail of the bed. The space between the mattress frame and guard rail was large enough for the child's body to pass through but small enough to catch the child's head.

The wooden bunk beds can be identified by a caution label located on the inside frame of the bottom bunk. The label identifies El Rancho Furniture or Seffi Industries as the manufacturer of the bed. The beds have twin-size mattress supports on both the top and bottom bunks and are constructed of pine wood. The beds were sold for about $199.00 each at furniture retail stores between May 1990 through October 12, 1994.

CPSC, El Rancho, and Seffi Industries urge that children discontinue using the beds immediately and call El Rancho/Seffi at (800) 622-7171 for a free replacement guardrail. This new guard rail will decrease the space between the bed frame and guardrail and should prevent a child from becoming caught.

The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) voluntary standard for bunk beds requires that spaces between the guardrail and bed frame without the mattress measure less than 3 1/2 inches. CPSC is currently looking at other beds in the marketplace to determine whether there is conformance with that voluntary standard and if other beds present a risk of injury or death.