A father has made a public plea for parents to secure furniture after his two-year-old son helped his twin brother out from under a fallen chest of drawers.
Brock and Bowdy Shoff, from Utah in the western US, were climbing on an empty chest of drawers in their bedroom when the item toppled over, trapping Brock underneath.
Bowdy, showing surprising strength, managed to push the drawers off his brother, who was pinned underneath.
The entire incident – which reportedly occurred on 30 December – was captured on surveillance cameras in the family’s home.
Their father, Ricky Shoff, posted footage of the accident to Facebook to encourage parents to ensure furniture was bolted to the wall.
“I’ve been a little hesitant to post this. But I feel it’s not only to bring awareness, but it is also incredible,” wrote Shoff.
“We are so grateful for the bond that these twin brothers share. We know Bowdy was not alone in moving the dresser off of Brock. And feel blessed that he is ok. Please make sure all your dressers are bolted and secured to the wall. Please share.”
The Facebook video had been shared close to 3,000 times after being posted on Sunday and received widespread media coverage.
Shoff – who works for a firm that sells home surveillance systems – told CNN that his family home was “very childproof”.
“We are really cautious about all this stuff, so it never really crossed our minds that something like this could happen.”
When his wife Kayli found the chest of drawers overturned, “there wasn’t a scratch” on either of them, Shoff said.
“It’s kind of a miracle. It’s something really special, to see how Bowdy helped Brock.”
The Guardian has contacted Shoff for comment.
CNN reported that Shoff said the chest of drawers was manufactured by Ikea.
Ikea told the Guardian the drawers did look similar to an Ikea product and the company was “working to verify whether or not it is”.
In a statement the company said: “This video clearly shows what can happen when chests of drawers are not secured to the wall.
“We want to emphasise that the best way to prevent the tip-over of chests of drawers is to anchor products to the wall.”
Following a number of fatalities in 2016, the Swedish manufacturer repeatedly warned about the risks posed by tall furniture.
Last year it announced a recall of 29m chests and dressers in the US after six children – all aged three years old or younger – were killed when the furniture toppled over and fell on them.
It also offered free kits to attach chests and dressers to a wall.
But the Malm range was not withdrawn worldwide, and is still available in Australia and the UK.
