Stoves Tipping Over on Children

When stoves are installed in kitchens – there's an optional bracket that can anchor the stove to the floor – but in millions of homes it's not installed. This leaves stoves from multiple manufacturers susceptible to tipping over if a child were to lean or climb on the stove door. According to previous comments from the Consumer Products Safety Commission there have been 12 deaths to date from stoves toppling small children or the elderly. There was also one last fall that killed Alex Dustin Smith, a 17-month-old in Elmira, NY. Now, a House Congressional committee is investigating.

Sears Roebuck and Company installs more stoves than any other company across America but when CBS asked if they had a policy to install brackets that anchor the appliances to the floor, Sears spokesman Larry Costello replied, "No comment." When asked if their 'no comment' had to do with pending litigation Costello repeated, "No comment."

The House Energy and Commerce committee sent a letter requesting documents to the Consumer Products Safety Commission- to see if the agency has investigated the issue and what conclusions they have drawn. Their inquiry is directed at gathering information on complaints about all kitchen range manufacturers. Documents are due tomorrow and that's also when the Commission says they will respond to our inquiry.