Refrigerator death

An older refrigerator with a closing latch and a newer version which closes magnetically

A refrigerator death is death by suffocation in a refrigerator or similar appliance such as a freezer. Because, by design, such appliances are air-tight when closed, a person trapped inside will have a limited supply of oxygen. Early refrigerators could only be opened from the outside, making accidental trappings, particularly of children playing with discarded appliances, a possibility, and several such deaths have been recorded.[1][2] Modern designs close with a magnetic mechanism that can be opened from the inside, reducing the danger of accidental trappings.

United States

Children would occasionally play in abandoned appliances, such as refrigerators and washing machines, and become trapped.[2] Deaths were not uncommon for children in the United States before the passage of the Refrigerator Safety Act in 1956.[3][4][5] The first reactions to the deaths were to ask people not to abandon refrigerators and to detach the doors of unused refrigerators. At least one state, Oklahoma, enacted legislation making the abandonment of a refrigerator with a latch in a location where a child might find it a felony.[6] At least as early as 1954, alternative methods of securing air-tight closures had been suggested, such as in patent 2767011, filed by Francis P. Buckley et al. in 1954 and issued in 1956.[7] In the mid- to late 1950s troops of people would sometimes search out abandoned refrigerators, detaching the doors and smashing the locks. However, these efforts were not entirely effective, and children were still dying inside refrigerators that had not been found and dismantled.

The continued occurrence of refrigerator deaths led to a law that required a change in the way refrigerator doors stay shut. The Refrigerator Safety Act is codified at 15 U.S.C. 1211-1214 as Public Law 84-930, 70 Stat. 953, on August 2, 1956.[8] The act applied to all refrigerators manufactured in the United States after October 31, 1958, and is largely responsible for the adoption of the magnetic mechanism that is used today instead of a latch.[3] Individual American states also have similar laws, such as California[9] and Washington.[10]

The number of deaths due to suffocation in refrigerators declined a significant amount in the years after the law.[1][11]

Elsewhere

Around the world, manufacture of latch refrigerators has been replaced by that of ones with magnet-closing doors.

As recently as 2013, deaths in a latched refrigerator occurred, in South Africa.[12]

Cultural Impact

In an early draft of Back to the Future, the time machine was a refrigerator. This idea was eventually scrapped, partly because the writers wanted the time machine to be mobile, and because Robert Zemeckis was afraid that kids would imitate the film and get trapped in refrigerators.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 Kraus, JF (1985). "Effectiveness of measures to prevent unintentional deaths of infants and children from suffocation and strangulation". Public Health Rep. 100: 231–40. PMC 1424727. PMID 3920722.
  2. 1 2 Spitz, Werner U., ed. (1993). Spitz and Fisher's Medicolegal Investigation of Death: Guidelines for the Application of Pathology to Crime Investigation (Third ed.). Springfield, Illinois: Charles C Thomas Publisher Ltd. p. 486.
  3. 1 2 Adams, Cecil (March 4, 2005), "Is it impossible to open a refrigerator door from the inside?", The Straight Dope
  4. ↑ Schotz, Andrew (February 15, 2011). "Parrott proposes change to refrigerator law". Herald-Mail. Annapolis, Maryland.
  5. ↑ Steve (March 17, 2011). "How A Refrigerator Can Kill You". The Refrigerator and Fridge Freezer Site. Fridge Freezer Site.
  6. ↑ "21 O.S. § 1208: Title 21. Crimes and Punishments, Chapter 48 - Miscellaneous and General Provisions, Section 1208 - Abandonment of Refrigerator or Icebox in Place Accessible to Children a Misdemeanor", Oklahoma Statutes, Oklahoma State Courts, June 2, 1955
  7. ↑ Buckley, Francis P. (October 16, 1956), Patent US2767011 A: REFRIGERATOR LATCH MECHANISM, United States Patent Office
  8. ↑ "REFRIGERATOR SAFETY ACT (Codified at 15 U.S.C. 1211−1214) (Public Law 84-930, 70 Stat. 953, August 2, 1956)" (PDF), United States Code, United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, August 2, 1956
  9. ↑ "California Penal Code Section 402b", California Penal Code, State of California, September 9, 2016
  10. ↑ RCW 9.03.010: Abandoning, discarding refrigeration equipment, Washington State Legislature
  11. ↑ "Choking, Aspiration, and Suffocation Interventions", Best Practices, Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center, University of Washington School of Social Work, archived from the original on May 9, 2004
  12. ↑ Presse, Agence France (September 14, 2013). "3 Children Die From Suffocation After Getting Stuck In Refrigerator In South Africa". Retrieved January 1, 2018 – via Huff Post.
  13. ↑ https://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-cronin/did-marty-mcfly-originall_b_8293916.html
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