The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
voted (3-0) today to begin developing a safety standard to reduce the
severity of mattress fires and to make mattresses less flammable. The
new standard will address fires ignited by sources such as candles,
matches and lighters. The goal is to minimize the deaths and injuries
from fires started in bedding and mattresses by limiting the size and
spread of the fire. There already is a federal standard requiring
mattresses to be resistant to
cigarette ignition.
Mattress and bedding fires are one of the leading causes of
injuries and were second only to upholstered furniture in the number of
fire-related deaths in 1998. In 1998, mattresses or bedding items were
first to ignite in about 18,100 residential fires that resulted in 390
deaths and 2,160 hospital emergency room injuries. Additionally, these
fires cost more than $200 million in property damage. CPSC estimates
that a new safety standard could significantly reduce the deaths,
injuries and property damage from mattress-related fires.
"Tragically, young children are often the victims of mattress
fires," said CPSC Chairman Ann Brown. "From 1994 through 1998, over
three-quarters of the deaths relating to mattress and bedding fires
ignited from such sources as candles, lighters and matches were to
children under the age of 15."
Most of these fires begin when a small, open flame ignites
bedding. The bedding fire can then grow into a much larger fire
involving the mattress.
Today's vote directs the CPSC staff to issue an advanced notice of
proposed rulemaking (ANPR) for publication in the Federal Register,
which is the first step in agency rulemaking.
Since 1998, CPSC has been researching options for addressing
mattress fire hazards from open flames. The Sleep Product Safety
Council, a non-profit organization associated with the mattress indus-
try, is sponsoring research at the National Institute for Standards
and Technology (NIST) to develop an effective performance test. CPSC is
sponsoring NIST to develop a related, small-scale screening test.
As part of its ongoing work on mattress flammability, the
Commission also considered four petitions from the Children's Coalition
for Fire-Safe Mattresses. The first two petitions, which were granted,
requested that residential mattresses pass two specific open-flame
tests. In the course of the rulemaking, CPSC will recommend the best
testing approach after examining the technical research currently
underway. The other two petitions requested labeling requirements.
Labeling options will be evaluated during the rulemaking proceeding.