Furniture company recalls 6.5 million cedar chests

TUPELO, Miss. (AP) _ Lane Home Furnishings has issued a recall for 6.5 million cedar chests made between 1912 and 1987 because the locks on the chests are not childproof. <br><br>The Tupelo-based furniture

Saturday, January 26th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TUPELO, Miss. (AP) _ Lane Home Furnishings has issued a recall for 6.5 million cedar chests made between 1912 and 1987 because the locks on the chests are not childproof.

The Tupelo-based furniture company issued the recall Friday. Lane president and chief executive Tom Foy said the locks are automatically engaged when the lid is closed.

``We're focusing our search for these specific chests because we're offering owners a new, safer lock free-of-charge,'' Foy said. ``The new locks, which have been installed on all Lane chests since 1987, must be latched manually from outside the chest.''

The replacement locks are nearly identical to the old ones in appearance and are easy to replace by removing the existing screws and installing the new lock and new screws, Foy said.

Lane will ship a new lock to consumers.

Lane manufactured and sold 12 million cedar chests using the old locks during the 75-year period. The company estimates 6.5 million of these chests still exist.