Fire Safety and Mattresses

One of the last thoughts that come in the mind when we go to sleep in that soft pampering mattress is the fire safety. In fact how many times in life did we ever think about fire safety when going to bed? The answer is probably never. According to statistics from CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) about 365 people die every year from mattress related fires every year i.e. about one death a day due attributed to mattress related fires. After reading this statistics you might be compelled to rethink about the present sleeping arrangements and have a look at the insurance policies. Mattress manufacturers per federal requirements are required to comply with a fire repellant regulation that saves many lives. The new regulation will make it more stringent for the manufacturers to make mattresses which are more fire proof to fires that take place due to lighters, matches, candles etc. 

While the regulations dealing with mattress fires do not completely eliminate the chances of fires but these regulations may give that extra little time to save them from fire. As many of us know that it’s only a matter of few seconds for fire to surround a mattress. But the mattresses that are manufactured keeping in mind the above regulation burns much slower thus giving more time for the victims to escape fire and save from injury or death. Fires caused due to mattresses are one of the leading causes of death for kids, one of the reasons why it’s so important to take safety precautions of highest order. Some of them are discussed as follows. 

First thing to be careful about is not to smoke in bed, according to many statistics, smoking in bed is one of the biggest causes of mattress fires. Smoking in bed has led to many unintentional fatal fires in many homes. It should be noted that if the mattress is manufactured after the year of 1973, it must resist cigarette ignition, so always look for this important factor. The new regulation of July, 2007 would also require manufacturers to make mattresses to resist against open flame also. The next thing to take care of is the candles. Everybody likes to decorate their homes with beautiful and aromatic candles but would they every want to turn their house into an ugly burnt house with the same candles? Nobody would ever want to do that. So, always be watchful when lighting candles and put them off as when done. Also, do not ever leave the candles to burn and go to bed, this can be a potential fire hazard which can engulf whole house into flames within minutes. 

Also, teach the children to not to play with matches or lighters or candles. Children are always fascinated by something that burns, so always keep a watchful eye even if you have taught them not to light them. An important step towards the safety of every inmates of the house is to install fire and smoke alarms in every bedroom of the house. But, do not forget to check the alarm batteries regularly; failing to do so could result in alarm failing when actually needed. Make it a point to replace the batteries of the alarms yearly. 

The CPSC estimates say that more than 1,330 injuries and 365 deaths will be prevented every year due to the new regulation brought into ordinance in July, 2007. While it’s very hard to predict a fire for anyone but there are always ways to prepare just in case if one occurs. Apart from taking precautionary measures we must also make sure that we have home insurance or renter’s insurance to cover monetary and life damages. Insurance pays for the unexpected and it is not unusual for unexpected to happen. We may not be able to eliminate the chances of unexpected but we can definitely prepare for it and insurance is one of the best ways to prepare for the unexpected.