Events are being planned in the UK to commemorate 20 years of controls on the fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture.
The Furniture (Fire safety) Regulations were introduced in 1988 following widespread public concern on the high number of fire deaths and injuries caused by the involvement of flammable furniture in fires in the home.
The hazards came from the use of easily ignitable coverings and highly flammable foam fillings which gave very little escape time once the furniture became involved in fire, in many cases escape became impossible in as little as 3 minutes after ignition.
The Regulations require all upholstered furniture to be resistant to ignition by cigarettes or matches and foam and other filling materials used, to be slow burning to allow more escape time.
Independent research estimates that in the first fifteen years the regulations contributed to saving over 4,000 lives and preventing approximately 40,000 injuries.
The 20th anniversary will commemorate the work of the fire service, furniture manufacturers and material suppliers, together the enforcement agencies, in what has been a remarkable consumer safety achievement and will urge the adoption of similar standards throughout the European Union.
