The CEO of a B.C.-based company at the centre of a recall involving 2.1 million cribs after four deaths were reported, says his company's products are safe and that it is the responsibility of caregivers to ensure the cribs are assembled properly.

"There is a certain amount of due diligence that is required by a caregiver when they are using a crib," Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc. CEO Jim Moore told CTV News. "If you are going to be leaving your child unattended in a crib you have to make sure that everything is . . . tight, that there are no broken parts and that you really know that the crib is assembled correctly.

"I know our product is safe."

The comments come as worried parents have faced busy signals and "service unavailable" notices for much of Tuesday when they tried to contact the manufacturer for a repair kit.

Late Monday night, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled more than two million drop-side cribs manufactured by Vancouver-based Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc., saying that more than 100 injuries and four deaths had been linked to the products.

The cribs were recalled because plastic hardware can break, deform or go missing, and because some drop-sides are installed upside-down.

These problems can cause the drop-side to detach, which creates a space in which a baby can become trapped and potentially suffocate.

The CPSC news release, as well as a recall notice issued Tuesday by Health Canada, advised consumers to call the company or visit its website to get more information or obtain a repair kit.

However, anyone attempting to log onto the website throughout Tuesday morning would have received a "service unavailable" message, while calls to the toll-free number -- 877-274-0277 -- yielded a busy signal.

After remaining quiet on the issue Monday night, Health Canada issued its version of the recall Tuesday morning, advising consumers to inspect their cribs and stop using them immediately "if there is reason for concern."

The agency said it has received three reports of babies becoming trapped and eight reports of falls in connection with the recalled cribs in Canada.

It has also received reports of 32 other "incidents" related to broken plastic hardware.

In the U.S., there have been 12 cases of entrapment, and four children have died from suffocation.

"Parents and caregivers are reminded to check their baby's crib regularly before using it and are instructed not to use it if any parts are loose or missing, or if there are any signs of damage," the agency said. "Only parts obtained from the original manufacturer must be used for repairs."

The recall includes 1.2 million Stork Craft drop-side cribs in the U.S. and 968,000 in Canada. About 150,000 have the Fisher-Price logo on them.

It includes models with manufacturing and distribution dates between January 1993 and October 2009. Those with the Fisher-Price logo were sold in Canada between October 1997 and December 2004.

The recalled cribs were sold at major retailers, including Sears and Wal-Mart stores, and online at Amazon.com, Babiesrus.com, Costco.com, Target.com and Walmart.com for between $100 and $400.

The recall only applies to drop-side cribs with a plastic trigger and one-hand-system drop-side hardware. It does not involve cribs with metal rod drop-side hardware.