It pays to be in the know and to be aware of what is going on, especially when this is an issue that will affect you and your family’s safety.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has published a consumer brochure highlighting the new mattress flammability standards that go into effect July 1. The tri-fold brochure, “Sleep Safer,” explains the reasons the agency adopted the new standards and offers a half-dozen safety tips to further reduce mattress fires.

The brochure says the new rules “buy you and your family more time to escape before the fire gets out of control.” It points out that many mattress fires are caused by children playing with open flames such as candles or matches, or by leaving burning candles unattended.The new rules require mattresses to be resistant to open-flame ignitions. Flammability standards covering cigarette ignitions have been in effect since 1973.

All major U.S. mattress producers have revamped their product lines during the past two years to bring them in compliance with the open-flame standards.

Brochures are available free from the CPSC. For more information, see the agency’s Web site

via Furniture Today