Advice
Not to alarm you or anything, but the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that 330 deaths and 1,680 injuries occur each year from mattress fires. While this isn’t a staggering figure, it still is quite worrying. After more than eight years of research and study, a federal mattress flammability standard was enacted a couple of years back. The standard was instituted to limit the intensity of a mattress fire, and it is estimated that the new guidelines can eliminate 75 percent of deaths and injuries when a mattress catches fire. Don’t let your guard down completely though, as the increased fire resistance does not fully eliminate the risk of fire.
We take safety measures in almost everything we do on a daily basis. We wear seat-belts, we walk only on sidewalks, we warn our children against talking to strangers, we don’t drink and drive, etc. Some might call it being paranoid, but it is being cautious. Such simple precautions should be adopted in the bed as well. Health and safety should be everybody’s top priority. Always remember that a safer mattress cannot reduce injury and risk alone. Follow a few easy safety measures:
- Be careful with candles around your bed.
- Keep cigarettes, lighters and matchsticks away from children.
- Make sure the smoke detectors in your home are functioning properly.
- Avoid smoking in bed as it can be hazardous.
Research indicates that around one-third of deaths from bedroom fires involve either people in or near the bed, another third are those who are elsewhere in the bedroom, while the last third die when the fire “flashes” over from the bedroom to other parts of the home. These flashes occur in less than three minutes and give you barely any time to escape. The new standard has been brought into effect to reduce the growth and intensity of a mattress fire, delay or avoid the flash over which gives you enough time to move to safety.
All the mattresses in the market are needed to comply with these CPSC regulations. Your safety is important, so check the label to make sure that your mattress is compliant.
Sleep safe and sound.