U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

CPSC NEEDS YOUR HELP...

We need your help in reducing serious fire hazard related injuries and deaths among children. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) will be conducting a Recall Round-Up this spring to help reduce fire hazards from consumer products by encouraging consumers to remove hazardous products from their homes.

In the past four years, Recall Round-Up campaigns generated tremendous interest and media attention nationwide. Recall Round-Up is CPSC's single-most successful Federal-state-local partnership program. All 50 states, Guam, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia participated, as well as many local community organizations and national non-profit organizations.

Join us this year on April 17, 2001, to make this program the most successful ever!

Program 2001's New Initiative - Fire Department Involvement

CPSC is requesting local fire departments and State Designee offices to establish collection sites for recalled products in firehouses throughout the state. Offer to host a collection site for one week starting April 17, 2001 and publicize it in your community.

Recall Round-Up Program Description

CPSC coordinates approximately 300 recalls of defective or dangerous products each year. Removing recalled products from the distribution chain is usually not difficult, but getting consumers to give them up can be. Despite recall notices and public warnings, many old hazardous products are still in homes, flea markets, second-hand stores, and at garage and yard sales. The results? Deaths and serious injuries to children caused by recalled products still occur, and parents lament, "If only we'd known...."

What can you do? CPSC, fire marshals, fire departments, state and local health, safety, and non-profit consumer agencies are collaborating in springtime community round-ups of recalled and other hazardous products to alert parents, children's care givers, and the general public to the hazards of selected consumer products and to encourage their repair, return, or destruction. We'd like you or your organization to join in this initiative.

To kick off the nationwide Recall Round-Up campaign, CPSC will broadcast a video news release (VNR) by satellite to all U.S. TV stations on April 17, 2001. The VNR will describe the hazards of the selected products and product categories for the 2001 campaign. We will urge consumers to check their homes for these products and to call CPSC's toll-free consumer Hotline (1-800-638-2772) or visit its website, www.cpsc.gov, for more information. Our Hotline also will inform callers how to get a list from the Commission of other recently recalled products.

Some other suggested activities that fire marshals and fire departments can organize to further participate in the Recall Round-Up program:

• Organize local recall round-ups. Work with safety, health, consumer agencies, schools and other community organizations for the central collection of recalled products.
• Organize a local news conference at your Firehouse and promote media awareness. Inform local media in advance about the timing and use of your press conference and the CPSC video news release kicking off the nationwide Recall Round-Up campaign; issue a local news release; conduct TV and radio interviews.
• Promote community awareness. Distribute CPSC's list of recalled products and poster [pdf] [pdf Spanish] to day care agencies, community and homeowner associations that sponsor yard sales or publish local newsletters and organizations; monitor local flea markets, secondhand stores, yard and garage sales for recalled products.
• Involve your local Congressional representatives. Work with the congressperson in your district to host a press conference, issue a press release, and participate in an activity. With your help we can reduce serious injuries and deaths among children. Please join us in this potentially life-saving project.

Recall Round-up Contacts

Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska
Robert R. Baxter
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
4815 West Markham, Slot 50
Little Rock, Arkansas 72205
504-324-6631
504-324-6933 (Fax)
bbaxter@cpsc.gov

North Carolina, South Carolina
Helen Cash
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
P. O. Box 1514
Summerville, SC 29484-1514
843-832-9710
843-832-0799 (Fax)
hcash@cpsc.gov

Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Louisiana
Jesus Chairez (Spanish Speaking)
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
3523 McKinney Avenue, # 520
Dallas, Texas 75204
214-827-6239
214-827-6241 (Fax)
jchairez@cpsc.gov

Florida
Susan Gabriel
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
727 Keeneland Pike
Lake Mary, Florida 32746
407-321-3100
407-330-1999 (Fax)
sgabriel@cpsc.gov

New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Connecticut
Rhoderick Holliday
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
201 Varick Street, # 903
New York, New York 10014-4811
212-620-4123
212-620-5338 (Fax)
rholliday@cpsc.gov

Southern California, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming
Marcia Kerr
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
25422 Trabuco Road, # 105-394
Lake Forest, California 92630-2797
949-829-8249
949-829-0001 (Fax)
mkerr@cpsc.gov

Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island
Barbara A. McEachern
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
10 Causeway Street, ROOM # 469
Boston, Massachusetts 02222-1047
617-565-7734
617-565-7735 (Fax)
bmceachern@cpsc.gov

Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, D.C.
Maryanne McGerty-Sieber
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
P.O. Box 222
Sicklerville, New Jersey 08081
856-875-8124
856-875-3691 (Fax)
msieber@cpsc.gov

Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee
Carol D. Reeves
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
P.O. Box 961643
Riverdale, Georgia 30296
770-907-4622
770-907-4652 (Fax)
creeves@cpsc.gov

Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky
Charlene Roundtree
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
13938A Cedar Road
P.O. Box 256
University Heights, Ohio 44118
216-321-5300
216-321-1717 (Fax)
croundtree@cpsc.gov

Washington, Montana, Alaska, Idaho, Oregon
Eugene Staebell
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
10842 S.E. 208th Street
PMB 273
Kent, Washington 98031
(253)-631-6806
(253) 631-6941 (Fax)
estaebell@cpsc.gov

Northern California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah
Joel C. Swisher
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
1301 Clay Street, # 610-N
Oakland, California 94612
415-643-1437
415-643-1438 (Fax)
jswisher@cpsc.gov

Illinois, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin
Catherine Thorsen
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
P.O. Box 72175
Roselle, IL 60172-0175
630-351-8498
630-351-8727 (Fax)
cthorsen@cpsc.gov