Flammable Products

Flammable Products
It has been known for decades in the furniture industry
that the design and manufacture of upholstered furniture
with polyurethane foam is unsafe. The Consumer Product
Safety Commission has estimated that over 800 people die
every year in fires where upholstered furniture was the
first item ignited. In just a matter of minutes a sofa fire
can turn a living room into an inferno which fills the
house with thick dark smoke and toxic gases which inhibit
and prevent the occupants from escaping the fire.

Temperatures from upholstered furniture fires can exceed
1400 degrees within minutes. If you are in prison, a
hospital, on an airplane, living in California or the
United Kingdom, your chances of surviving a furniture fire
are dramatically higher as fire retardant foam is required
in these places. In California, a state that adopted flame
retardant foam standards "California Foam" in the 1970's,
there has been a 25 percent drop in deaths involving
upholstered furniture beyond the national average.

Polyurethane has been dubbed "solid gasoline" by numerous
fire marshals. Once ignited, the foam will burn rapidly at
temperatures in excess of 1400 degrees. Most significantly,
when it decomposes and burns, it emits hydrogen cyanide
gases, a fatal asphyxiate. Hydrogen cyanide produces anoxia
(absence of oxygen). When it is combined with carbon
monoxide, the effects of the hydrogen cyanide are
multiplied. An individual may become disoriented in this
type of situation, which could increase the risk of death.
Ensuring the materials of furniture in a home is one way to
prepare and protect oneself from such a threat.

Statistics clearly indicate that the greatest threat to
building occupants is the spread and exposure to toxic
gases. This becomes highly significant where the victims of
the fire were attempting to escape, but due to the effects
of the toxic gases the normal escape responses become
impaired and, accordingly, increase the lethal aspect of a
fire. The limited escape time and the failure to appreciate
the extreme hazards of rapid flame spread and propagation
leads, often times, to tragic consequences.

Individuals who may have flammable furniture should replace
the furniture to ensure safety and may want to speak with
an experienced attorney who can provide insight into how
these unsafe items made it to market with so little warning
from manufacturers. Additionally, keeping at least one, if
not more, fire extinguishers in the home as well as
checking batteries on smoke detectors is imperative in case
a fire should ever occur.

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