Estimating the impact of the mattress fire safety Standard 16 CFR Part 1633 on bed fire outcomes

Abstract

Beds are a prevalent combustible in fatal fires in the United States effective 1 July 2007, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission promulgated a standard to severely reduce the heat release rate and the early heat output from mattresses and foundations when ignited by a flaming ignition source. This study estimates the Standard's success over its first decade using fire incidence, US population, and mattress sales data. The technique mitigates the influence of some exogenous factors that might have changed during this decade. The Standard is accomplishing its purpose, preventing approximately 65 fatalities (out of an estimated 95 fatalities in 2002-2005) from bed fires annually during 2015-2016, although not all pre-Standard mattresses had yet been replaced. Compared to residential upholstered furniture fires, which were not affected by the Standard, the numbers of bed fires decreased

Solving the soft furnishings fire problem (without incurring collateral damage)

“…An ideal example of this is documented in the paper by Gilbert et al 6 The mattress industry, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), each played its appropriate role. Under the agreed‐upon premise that the bedding would be ignited first and then present the mattress with a large flame threat, NIST developed a test method for measuring the heat release rate (HRR) from a full‐scale mattress and the basis for identifying fire behavior that would result in fewer casualties.…”