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Note: Replacement ladder is no longer available. The Creative Playthings company
that conducted the recall no longer exists. Please discard or destroy ladder.
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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| Originally issued March 15, 1982; Last revised February 21, 2003 |
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| Release # 82-008 |
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Creative Playthings Renews Efforts To Replace
Indoor Gym House Ladders After California Death
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Creative Playthings had renewed its
efforts to replace all estimated 137,000 to 239,000 Creative
Playthings Indoor Gym House ladders following a recent strangulation
death. The product was manufactured prior to 1980 by Creative
Playthings, a unit of Gabriel Industries, a division of CBS Inc.,
New York, N.Y.
Consumers are urged to remove and destroy the ladder
immediately.
The replacement program was conducted in cooperation
with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission which advised the
firm of the death of a two-year-old California boy on February
9, 1982, in an accident associated with a Creative Playthings
Indoor Gym House.
The firm first took corrective action for the product in
February, 1980, after learning of an accidental death and an
incident causing brain damage which later resulted in death to
a child playing with the product. The firm then urged owners of
the product to obtain a free replacement ladder because the
original ladder posed a strangulation hazard.
The Creative Playthings Indoor Gym House consists of a hollow,
fiberboard-and-wood box 20 inches in height which supports a
two-step wooden ladder on one side and a short slide on the
opposite side. The top of the box or "platform" serves as a
bridge between the ladder and the slide and is protected on two
sides by wooden railings.
The product is intended for use by children ages 18 months
through 3 l/2 years, according to the manufacturer. It was sold
for approximately $29 to $50 in toy stores and other retail
outlets nationwide in knocked-down form to be assembled by the
owner. The ladder that was being replaced was manufactured from 1962
through 1979. The gym houses with ladders that were being replaced are
those with "Creative Playthings" printed on the side or with
no lettering.
The space between the upper rung of the ladder and the
platform was small enough for a child's head to be inserted and
become entrapped creating a potential for strangulation. The
replacement ladder that had been offered by the firm was redesigned
to reduce the likelihood of head entrapment.
The Creative Playthings company that conducted the recall no longer exists. The replacement ladders are no longer available, and consumers should discard or destroy the ladder if they have the product.
Creative Playthings had undertaken additional efforts to
advise owners to destroy the old ladder. The firm sent letters and posters to
pediatricians and daycare centers throughout the United States,
advertised in magazines, provided a public service announcement
to major networks, aimed a news campaign to consumer affairs
editors, and sent advisory bulletins to organizations serving
parents of young children.
Creative Playthings "Indoor Gym House"
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