Playground Slide Severs Fingers; Playworld Recalls 1,300 Slides
Playworld Systems Inc., a playground manufacturer located in Lewisburg, PA, for more than 40 years, has recalled around 1,300 stainless steel slides after two children tragically lost their fingers. For the past 16 years, the line called the Lightning Slide, was sold across the country to local municipalities, public parks, and to many schools. The $1,500 to $4,000 Lighting Slides, manufactured by Horizon Industries in Columbia, PA, were sold by Playworld, a division of PlayPower, Inc., from November 2000 to October 2016.
“The playground is the last sacred space where kids can play and parents can feel comfortable,” wrote Matthew M. Miller, the President of North American Play at PlayPower Inc.
However, parents are feeling anything but comfortable as the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) received 13 reports of a weld, holding the sidewall to the bedway, cracking and separating—which can create a sharp-edged gap in the Playworld slide posing a serious risk of amputation. The slides in question have both single and double bedways and the welds are on both sides running along the entire slide, but there are no logos or “identifying marks” for consumers to identify the recalled equipment.
In 2001, the CPSC released a report that estimated 200,000 children under the age of 14 are sent to the emergency room annually from accidents that occur at a playground. The commission has instructed consumers to immediately stop using the dangerous equipment and to contact Playworld “for a free replacement slide and free installation.” In addition, Playworld said that they are sending out a “temporary barrier” that will arrive before the replacement “to prevent children from using the slide.” But all parents should inspect any slide or playground equipment to make sure it is safe before letting their children play.
Contact Playworld at (800) 233-8404 or email them at info@playworld.com
Slide Inspection Instructions – Download
Slide Removal Instructions – Download
Barrier Installation Instructions – Download
(Slide separates at faulty weld point.)