The two Wilson* boys, ages 6 and 8, were the envy of the neighborhood when their parents re-decorated their bedroom. Sporting a baseball theme, the beds were molded in the shape of baseball mitts, headboards were made from baseball bats, and on the floor lay a large circular rug in the shape of a baseball. It doesn’t get better than this for young boys of summer. But their pride soon turned to tragic sorrow.
One night the boys dozed off without noticing that the lamp was touching the foam pillows at the end of the bed. Soon, it ignited the pillows, quickly engulfing the bedroom in flames. The boys narrowly escaped with their lives, but their legs were severely burned, and their lungs permanently damaged from smoke inhalation.
A startling discovery
An investigation revealed that with their bedroom purchase, the Wilsons, like millions of Americans, brought into their home a product that accounts for more deaths than any other of the 15,000 products regulated by the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC): non-fire-retardant material. The origin of the fire was the foam pillow, which was made of highly flammable chemicals. In fact, all of the new upholstered bedroom furniture was made with non-fire-retardant materials that would burn like straw in a wheat field fire.
Through the investigation, shocking statistics were discovered concerning the frequency of these preventable fires. Evidence was found that U.S. furniture manufacturers have known for over 30 years that non-fire-retardant fabric and materials lead to a high number of deaths and serious injury. Yet, according to a CPSC 1997 report, the cost of fire retarding a sofa is a mere $24 to $30.
Despite the hazards associated with non-fire-retardant material, the law still allows the manufacture and use of unsafe home furnishings. Because of this, the Wilson boys will certainly not be the last victims of this dangerous material.
The grim statistics
The statistics on upholstered furniture fires tell a grim story. According to the CPSC and the National Fire Protection Association:
—Upholstered furniture fires are the leading cause of residential fire deaths.
—Approximately 15 to 25 percent of all civilian fire fatalities are caused by upholstered furniture fires.
—Between 1999 and 2002, an average of 520 people per year were killed and 1,040 people were injured as the result of such fires.
—Upholstered furniture fires accounted for an annual average $242 million dollars in property damage for the years 1999 to 2002.
Laws and regulations
In a 1972 report by the U.S. Department of Congress, the Secretary of Commerce stated that because there was no national flammability standard for upholstered furniture, the public was not protected from “an unreasonable risk of fire.” He further insisted that through ordinary use, such furniture presented “a foreseeable hazard… leading to death, injury or significant property damage.”
Now, 34 years later, the federal government has taken no action and the hazard remains the same. (California is the only state prohibiting the sale of non-fire-retardant upholstered furniture.) And so it is up to all parents to take preventive steps to protect their families.
Taking action to prevent fire accidents
To help prevent death and serious injury due to upholstered furniture, follow these two guidelines when decorating your home:
1. Do not have any non-fire-retardant furniture in your child’s bedroom.
Children do not have the same reaction skills as adults. If a fire originates in a child’s bedroom, there is a good chance that the child will suffer severe injuries or death.
2. Do not use non-fire-retardant pillows.
Many parents make the mistake of having fire-retardant upholstered furniture and then placing a non-fire-retardant pillow or extra cushion on the furniture, increasing the risk of fire.
WINDOW COVERING CORD SAFETY
Another household furnishing product that is dangerous to children is window coverings: shades, blinds, draperies, etc. Here, too, the statistics are tragic: Between 1991 and 2000, the CPSC reported 160 strangulations involving cords on window blinds: 140 strangulations involved outer pull cords and 20 involved the inner cords that run through the blind sets. The strangulation victims ranged in age from 9 to 17 months.
Laws and regulations
By federal regulation, all outer pull cords manufactured since 1995 are prohibited from having a loop (found to be a design flaw responsible for most strangulations). In 1999, the CPSC found that children also get entangled in the inner cords used to raise the slats. Based on this finding, the industry redesigned window coverings to have attachments on the pull cords so that the inner cords can’t form loops. However, there are millions of blinds in use that were manufactured prior to these changes that continue to pose a safety hazard to our children.
Taking action to prevent strangulation
To help prevent deaths and serious injuries from window covering cords, follow these two guidelines in your home:
1. Eliminate all outer pull cords with loops.
Check all your window coverings carefully for any loop cord (especially coverings manufactured before 1995). Disposal of the blinds is the only safe solution for these window coverings.
2. Eliminate all inner cords that can form a loop.
Entrapments occur when a young child pulls on an inner cord and it forms a loop from which the child can hang. Children in cribs or playpens placed next to windows are most at-risk for such entrapments. In most cases, outer pull cords have been placed out of reach, but the children can still be strangled when they pull on the inner cords of the blinds.
If your blinds have this dangerous type of inner cord, the industry provides a free kit to make them safe. The CPSC has advised: “Consumers who have window blinds with loops should immediately visit the Window Covering Safety Council website (www.windowcoverings.org) or call 1-800-506-4636 to receive a free repair kit for each set of blinds. The repair kit includes small plastic attachments to prevent inner cords from being pulled loose.”
Don’t delay this important safety inspection in your home. Today, check that all upholstered furniture is made of fire-retardant materials and that all window coverings do not have dangerous loop cords.
*Names have been changed to protect privacy.
DON KEENAN is the founder of Keenan’s Kids Foundation (www.keenanskidsfoundation.com). He recently published a book on kids’ safety, ‘365 Ways to Keep Kids Safe’, available at: www.365waystokeepkidssafe.com.
