Across America, old chest freezers, refrigerators, clothes dryers, and picnic coolers sit in garages, basements, and storage areas — and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warns that children have suffocated inside them. Unlike modern appliances, older latch-style models can only be opened from the outside. A child who climbs inside cannot push the door open, and the tight-fitting gasket seals off their air supply within minutes.
How Children Die in These Appliances
Most of the documented victims were between four and seven years old. In the majority of cases, children were playing hide-and-seek when the appliance provided what seemed like a perfect hiding spot. When the door slammed shut, the tight insulated construction of the appliance cut off air to the child — and also prevented the child’s screams from being heard from outside. Without fresh air and with no way to open the door from the inside, children have suffocated in minutes.
CPSC has received reports of suffocation deaths in chest freezers, latch-type refrigerators, combination washer/dryer units, picnic coolers, and ice boxes in campers and recreational vehicles. The hazard is not limited to discarded appliances — CPSC has documented entrapment deaths in appliances actively in use or in storage in kitchens, laundry rooms, basements, and garages.
In some incidents involving clothes dryers, the appliance was accidentally turned on while the child was inside.
The Federal Law and the Remaining Hazard
The Federal Refrigerator Safety Act requires that refrigerators be capable of being opened from the inside. However, older models manufactured before this requirement took effect may still be in use or in storage in American homes. Chest freezers, picnic coolers, ice boxes in campers, and old clothes dryers are not covered by the same requirement and still present the entrapment risk.
What to Do Right Now
- Identify every old latch-style appliance in your home, garage, basement, and recreational vehicles. If the door cannot be pushed open from the inside, the appliance is a hazard.
- If discarding an old refrigerator or freezer, remove the door completely before placing it outside — it is unlawful in many jurisdictions to discard these appliances without first removing the door.
- Lock the door to any utility room containing appliances that could pose an entrapment hazard, and warn children not to play inside or near these items.
- Inspect any ice chest, cooler, or camper ice box for latch-style closures that cannot be pushed open from the inside.
To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, visit SaferProducts.gov or call CPSC’s Hotline at 800-638-2772.
