New CPSC Mattress Standard Expected to Save 100’s of Lives Every Year

Get ready, everyone: The new standard designed to reduce mattress flammability developed by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission last year is on track to become effective on July 1, 2007.

Though mattress manufacturers had formally requested that the federal agency extend this deadline in order to make complying with it easier, the agency refused to grant them additional time before compliance becomes mandatory. The CPSC did not, however, mandate how mattress manufacturers must build their mattresses in order to comply with the new standard.

The CPSC, which approved the new flammability criterion by a vote of 30 to 0 in early 2006, expects it will save as many as 270 lives, prevent 78% of the deaths currently caused by mattress fires every year and slash the number of injuries currently occurring from mattress fires by as much as 84%.

Compliance with the new flammability standard, which covers mattress fires that start from open flames including those from candles, matches and lighters, is mandatory. Developed in conjunction with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, it mandates that the peak heat release rate not exceed 200 kW during 30 minutes or 15 MJ within the first 10 minutes of the burn.

Mattress fires started by lighted cigarettes are covered by a separate mandatory standard that has existed for more than 30 years and is credited for dramatically reducing the number of deaths and injuries suffered as a result of fires started by lighted cigarettes.

Although the new standard increases consumer safety, it should not lull people into a false sense of safety. The best way to avoid being injured or killed by a mattress fire is to keep lighted cigarettes, candles and other fire sources well away from your mattress. Consumers are also strongly encouraged not to smoke in bed and to ensure that all candles are extinguished before leaving the room or getting into bed at night.

Consumers that require more information about mattress compliance and safety are invited to read CPSC’s publication titled “Sleep Safer: A Fire Resistant Mattress Can Save Your Life” (CPSC-560), which is available free of charge online in English and Spanish.