Freezer Recall Information

Office of Information and Public Affairs

Washington, DC 20207

Release # 05-279

CPSC, W.C. Wood Company Inc. Announce Recall of Upright Freezers and Single Door Refrigerators

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announces the following recall in voluntary cooperation with the firm below. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Automatic Defrost Upright Freezers and All-Refrigerators

Units: About 112,000

Manufacturer: W.C. Wood Company Inc., of Ottawa, Ohio

Hazard: The defrost heater coil can become exposed inside the units, which poses a potential shock hazard to consumers. In some cases the exposed heater wire can also melt, or burn the unit’s interior plastic food liner.

Incidents/Injuries: W.C. Woods has received 45 reports of incidents of the defrost heater coil becoming exposed. Nine of those incidents resulted in an electrical short. The others melted and burned the unit’s interior plastic liner. No injuries have been reported.

Description: The recalled single door freezers and refrigerators are 15, 17 and 20-cubic foot Automatic Defrost Upright Freezers and 17-cubic foot Automatic Defrost All-Refrigerators that can be converted into freezers. They were sold under the brand names Amana, Crosley, Danby, Maytag, Whirlpool and Wood’s, which is written on the front of the unit. The manufacturer label with the model number and date of manufacture is located on the inside of the cabinet. A list of model numbers and dates of manufacture included in the recall is listed below.

Brand	Model Numbers	Date of Manufacture
Amana	AFU1567*, AFU1767*, AFU2067*	200209 (September 2002) through 200402 (February 2004)
Crosley	FFCR17*, WCF15*, WCF17*, WCF20*
Danby	DUF1700*, DFF1708*
Maytag	MQU1556*, MQU2057*
Whirlpool	EV150NXM*, EV170NYL*, EV171NYM*, EV200NXK*, EV201NXM*, EL7ATRRK*, EL7ATRRM*, EL7JWKLM*, EL7JWKRM*
Wood’s	F15*, F17*, F20*, F42*, F47*, F55*, WFF15*, WFF17*, WFF20*, RFA17*, RFC17*, R47F*

Sold at: Home improvement and appliance stores from September 2002 through February 2005 for between $400 and $1,000.

Manufactured in: Canada and United States

Remedy: Consumers should contact W.C. Wood Co. to arrange for a free in-home repair.

Consumer Contact: Contact W.C. Wood toll-free at (866) 493-3314 or visit the firm’s Web site at www.freezer-repair.com

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $700 billion annually. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard or can injure children. The CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the 30 percent decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

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 www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. To join a CPSC email subscription list, please go to www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.asp. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information at CPSC's Web site at www.cpsc.gov.

Office of Information and Public Affairs

Washington, DC 20207

Release # 01-016

CPSC, Appliance Manufacturers Announce Voluntary Recall Initiative for Old Chest Freezers - A Deadly Play Area for Children

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) and its refrigerator/freezer manufacturing members are announcing a voluntary recall initiative to prevent suffocation deaths to children who become trapped inside non-working chest freezers in homes.

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. 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.

Consumers should properly dispose of these non-working freezers immediately or disable the latch if disposal is impossible. AHAM has set up a special toll-free number (800) 267-3138 from which consumers will be sent detailed information on identifying the affected units and how to dispose of them or disable the latch. 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. Consumers also can receive information at http://www.aham.org/freezer_safety.htm.

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.

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.

"Many of these old freezers are still sitting in people's basements or abandoned in backyards," said CPSC Chairman Ann Brown. "This is an innovative cooperative effort that helps get safety information to consumers and saves lives."

"We are hopeful this partnership between manufacturers and the government will help save children's lives. We urge all consumers with an affected freezer to dispose of the unit as soon as possible," said Joseph M. McGuire, president of AHAM.

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.

Office of Information and Public Affairs

Washington, DC 20207

Release # 96-066

CPSC, W.C. Wood Co. Announce Recall Of 345,775 Freezers

WASHINGTON, D.C.- In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), W.C. Wood Company Inc. of Ottawa, Ohio, is announcing a voluntary recall to repair 345,775 chest freezers. The freezer's lock mechanism can be forced open without a key. Therefore, if a child opens the freezer and climbs or falls in, the lock could re-latch, trapping the child inside.

The freezers were sold from January 1991 through February 1996 in five different sizes: 7, 10, 12, 15, and 22 cubic feet. All of the freezers are white or almond. The freezers were sold nationwide for retail prices ranging from $199 to $549 through the following companies and brand names:

W.C. Wood Company distributed as Woods Brand and Quickfrez Brand; Danby Products Inc. of Findlay, Ohio, distributed as Danby Brand;

Crosley Group of Winston-Salem, N.C., distributed as Crosley Brand;

Whirlpool Corporation of Benton Harbor, Mich., distributed as Whirlpool Brand, Roper Brand, and Estate Brand.

W.C. Wood Co. is aware of five reports of incidents in which children have opened locked freezers without a key, including one report of a child who allegedly became trapped in the freezer but was found and released by an adult. The company is not aware of any injuries involving these freezers. This recall is being conducted to prevent the possibility of injury.

To determine if their freezer is subject to recall, consumers should contact W.C. Wood Co. Before calling, consumers should have the brand, model and serial number of their freezer, which they can get from the plate on the front inside wall on the right side, or the outside back wall next to the temperature control.

W.C. Wood will send a free modification kit to consumers with recalled freezers. Until the freezer lock is modified, unlock the lid and place the key in a child-safe location.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission protects the public from the unreasonable risk 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 and for information on CPSC's fax-on-demand service, call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270. 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 report product hazards to info@cpsc.gov.