CPSC, Newco Announce Recall to Repair Bunk Bed Assembly Kits

March 25,1999
Release # 99-085

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For Immediate Release;
Contact: Ken Giles
(301) 504-0580 Ext. 1184
Newco Media Contact: Michael R.Fitzpatrick
(608) 756-4141

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Newco Inc., of Janesville, Wis., is announcing a recall to repair program for about 5,400 bunk bed assembly kits sold under the brand name Bed-N-Loft Kits. Some kits did not include hardware or instructions for installing guardrails on the top bunk. A child could fall or become entrapped between the wall and the mattress if there are not guardrails on the top bunk. Other kits had incorrect assembly instructions for the guardrails, which caused spaces on the top bunk to be larger than 3.5 inches. This space could be large enough for a child's body to fall through, but small enough to entrap a child's head and possibly strangle.

CPSC and Newco are not aware of any injuries related to the kits. The kit contains hardware, including bed frame brackets and screws, for the assembly of a wood bunk bed or loft system. The kit was sold in a cardboard box labeled in part, "Do-It-Yourself Bed-N-Loft Hardware Kit...Ideal For: Dorm Rooms, Children's Rooms, Spare Bedrooms, Cabins & Cottages...Made in U.S.A....NE 8830".

Menards, Payless Cashways, Cotter-Miller, and Woodworker's Supply stores mainly in the Midwest sold the kits from January 1994 through September 1998 for about $40.

Consumers should stop using any bunk bed assembled from this kit until they have repaired the bed. To receive the repair kit, which consists of instructions for properly placing guardrails on the top bunk and the necessary hardware, consumers should call Newco Inc. toll-free at (877) 865-5191 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. PST Monday through Friday. Local consumers should call 608-741-7707.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission protects the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death from 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270, or visit CPSC's web site at http://www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. For information on CPSC's fax-on-demand service, call the above numbers or visit the web site at http://cpsc.gov/about/who.html. To order a press release through fax-on-demand, call (301) 504-0051 from the handset of your fax machine and enter the release number. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information at CPSC's web site at http://www.cpsc.gov.