New Federal Mattress Standard Expected to Save Hundreds of Lives, Prevent Thousands of Injuries
This is a press release from the CPSC or the US Consumer Product Safety Commission:
Mattresses manufactured in or imported into the United States on or after July 1, 2007 must meet the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) flammability standard. The mandatory standard is designed to reduce the severity of mattress fires ignited by open flame sources such as candles, matches and lighters.CPSC estimates that, once fully effective, the new federal flammability standard will prevent as many as 270 deaths and 1,330 injuries every year.
CPSC Acting Chairman Nancy Nord calls the new standard an important layer of fire protection in the home.
“The new federal flammability standard limits the spread and intensity of a mattress fire,” said CPSC Acting Chairman Nancy Nord. “That will give consumers valuable time to escape their homes if there’s a fire and it will save lives.”
The mandatory mattress rule, known as 16 CFR Part 1633, is a performance standard that limits the heat release in a mattress fire.
When shopping for a new mattress or mattress set, consumers should look for a label on the mattress stating that it meets the federal flammability requirement, and whether it is intended to be sold alone or with a specific foundation, such as a box spring.
Although this is an added layer of protection, consumers still need to keep in mind that increased fire resistance does not mean there is no fire risk. CPSC urges consumers to follow these important fire safety tips:
Never smoke in bed. Do not allow kids to play with candles, lighters, matches or smoking materials. Do not fall asleep while a candle is burning. Extinguish candles before leaving the room. Have working smoke alarms on each level of the home and inside every bedroom. In case of fire, call 911 from a safe location. The federal open flame standard does not address ignition from cigarettes because that protection is already required. A mandatory federal standard on cigarette ignition of mattresses, 16 CFR Part 1632, has been in place for more than 30 years.
CPSC’s free publication, “Sleep Safer: A Fire Resistant Mattress Can Save Your Life” (CPSC-560), offers consumers lifesaving information on the new federal open flame standard and fire safety tips. It is available in English and Spanish and can be ordered by sending an email request to info@cpsc.gov or by contacting CPSC’s Hotline at (800) 638-2772.
Tags: consumer_product_safety_commission, fire-safety-tips, MATTRESS News, MATTRESS Safety, MATTRESS Tips, mattress-fire
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June 21st, 2007 at 4:38 pm
What a load of unmitigated crap! Mattresses ALREADY have an overkill fire standard in place for several years now. It’s called the cigarette burn test. A piece of advice: If you don’t want to burn up on a mattress, then DON’T SMOKE IN BED. In the same vein, if you’re a zonked out welfare mom cum crack addict (an actual documented case) then don’t let your child run around your Section 8 house playing with your cigarette lighter and lighting himself first and then the mattress on fire!
This new federal standard was shoved into place with the suspiciously compromised assistance of the International Sleep Products Association (ISPA) help. At the urging of the major mattress manufacturer/members (Sealy, Simmons, Serta, Spring Air et al.) they rubber stamped this odious piece of questionable legislation in a clear effort to push out the smaller competition. It will work. Smaller companies and independents have already announced many are going out of business due to the increased costs of testing and paperwork involved in the new 1633 law. According to their own statistics, CPSC says that approximately 300 people a year die in mattress fires - as in literally ONE out of a million people who sleep on beds. Meanwhile the hapless legislators who encouraged this legislation have happily turned a blind eye to the health and long lasting environmental effects of all the new fire retardents, many of whom have starting showing up in the tissues of animals in the artic circle! What the long term health effects will be on individuals remains to be seen. But at least we know they won’t risk that 1 in a million chance of burning up in a mattress related fire.